A Change Of Heart
by ManarInMoon
Summary: Emily Gilbert was the older of three, their mother-like figure who was well-aware of the supernatural world. Damon Salvatore was a member of that world, one with some serious attitude issues. Will she being there for him change him? Will he being there for her make her feel complete? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

_Actress is Felicity Jones _

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character, Emily, and the plot-line changes.**

**XXXXX**

"Emily," Elena calls. Her sister pauses her studying on her laptop, turns to her from her bed, and smiles in greet.

"Hey. Back from school?" Emily asks.  
"Yeah," Elena replies tiredly. That didn't sound good.

Emily was the oldest of the Gilbert siblings. Older than her sister by two years, and her brother by four.

She was a college student, majored in English.

For the four months since their parents had died in that car accident, and Jenna, their aunt, moved in as their guardian, Emily had been taping herself up to create the picture form of responsibility.

Her parents would always tell her. _"You're the oldest. You're in charge. Look after your brother and sister." _Pressuring? Of course it was. But she never felt that extreme pressure until they were gone, and her siblings truly became her responsibility. She felt an obligation towards them. She became their **rock**.

She stood by them through it all. Made sure they felt comfortable talking to her, crying on her shoulder, safe around her, no matter how badly seeing them broken hurt her. It wasn't easy, but she'd achieved it to a point. They almost always came to her.

Though technically that ought to be Jenna's job, she wasn't very good at it, despite heartedly trying. Emily was just naturally good, mainly because she was their sister. She knew them, knew their ins and outs. Jenna didn't. But the presence of Emily helped Jenna cope faster with the new and sudden way of life she had to adapt to. Looking over three kids was no small thing, three **teenagers**.

But what about Emily? Who was **her** rock?

No one.

She'd try to keep herself up by being around her siblings. Seeing them smile, made her smile. Sometimes she'd lean on Jenna, who always had her arms open.

But, mainly, she channeled it, channeled all of it into turning her body into a weapon. She grew stronger, physically more than emotionally. Faster. More aware of her movements, of other people's movements.

…Of course…there was another reason she took those kickboxing and jujitsu classes.

"I…need to tell you something," Elena says. Emily furrows her eyebrows, shutting down her laptop screen.  
"What's wrong?" she asks, putting aside her several theories. Elena strolls cautiously into the room, sitting on the edge of Emily's bed.  
"It's about Jeremy," Elena says. A look of realization crosses Emily's eyes.

Their sibling had been acting out, ever since it happened.

At first, the incidents were small. A little drunk. A little high. They let pass. They didn't wanna pressure him. He was the youngest. It was hardest for him. They took it easy with Jeremy.

But what happened that day, took it too far.

"What is it?" Emily asks her sister. Elena scoffs tiredly.  
"It's the first day back, Emily! And he was **stoned**! I caught him. In the bathroom. I just…" she scoffs again.  
"Hey, easy," Emily tells, rubbing Elena's shoulder. Elena exhales.  
"He can't keep this up, Em. Not like this."

Emily eyes around, thoughts of 'I should have expected this' grasping her attention. She turns back to her sister. "I'll talk to him," she tells. Elena nods knowingly. It was why she told her anyways. Though she tried herself, maybe Emily would have better luck.

"Where is he?" Emily inquires. Elena shakes her head in dismiss.  
"Out with some friends," she says.  
"That's one of the problems," Emily breathes.  
"Yeah," Elena agrees, fiddling with her nails in stress. Emily notes.

She wanted to take Elena's mind off of this. It was hard enough already, carrying on their educational lives.

"So, how was your first day back?" Emily asks. Elena looks at her like 'really?'  
"How was **yours**?" she retorts knowingly. Emily chuckles at that.  
"Fair enough," she says, somewhat sadly. A memory clicks in Elena's mind.  
"There was…something though," she smiles sheepishly. Emily notes the glint in her sibling's shy eyes. She smiles as well. "This…guy." Emily grins.  
"Oooh, Eleeenaaa," Emily draws, tickling her in the side. Elena giggles.  
"Stop it!" she pushes back.

Elena tells Emily of her encounter with the mysterious new guy, who she didn't know the name of yet.

She told her how she was heading out of the bathroom, the** boys'** bathroom, after arguing with Jeremy, and she ran into him. She said it was unbelievingly embarrassing, but stated that he was undeniably gorgeous.

Emily rejoiced to hear her sister speak happily for once, about a day that could have been much worse.

She tells her about Bonnie, the mini accident they had with a bird and the car, which greatly concerned Emily, but she said nothing.

She also told her how Bonnie's grandmother thought Bonnie was psychic which caught Emily's interest a bit, especially when she mentioned the Salem witches.

Emily was the only member of the family to know about…the other world.

She'd read the journals. She knew it all. Did she believe it? No, at least until the year before.

Her first year of college. A while through, one of the students started showing up with what seemed as bite-marks across some spots on her body. No one really noticed unless they sat close enough to her. And Emily once did.

She was asked about them, and simply stated that her boyfriend played rough, which Emily thought insane.

Then, the girl was found dead,

dried of blood,

and bitten on the neck.

That was enough for Emily to believe.

They were real.

So, what did she do?

She said nothing, but she took action. She gave her family members vervained accessories, which weren't easy to find, but she would waste no expense. Jeremy and Elena had bracelets. Jenna had a necklace. Emily had an ankle-bracelet, and several pencils in her bag.

She'd never seen one, and she hoped she'd never have to. She hoped it was all her imagination.

…But was it?

XXX

Later that night, Jeremy was still out. Elena was to be meet up with Bonnie at the Grill, and Emily was to spend the night in, ironically watching Supernatural with Jenna.

About to head out, Emily hears Elena speaking to someone at the door. Jenna was in the bathroom during then.

"…I get it, blood makes you squeamish," Elena resumes. Emily, who was strolling to the door to see, furrows her eyebrows at her sister's words.

Stefan's eyes avert to Emily. Elena turns. "Oh. This is my sister, Emily," Elena introduces as Emily smiles, approaching them and offering Stefan her hand. He smiles brightly at her and shakes it graciously.

Elena was right, he was gorgeous. The smooth skin, the green eyes, the soft, light-brown locks. The built. Definitely a looker.

"Stefan," he states.  
"It's nice to meet you, Stefan," she says. Elena smiles happily at them. "So, what brings you here?" she asks casually.  
"Oh, um. I wanted to give this to…Elena," he says, bringing out a small journal.

Elena had told Emily about her second encounter with him at the cemetery. She wouldn't have, she liked going there without people knowing, but she had to explain when Emily saw the wound on her sister's ankle.

Apparently, some fog and a crow had spoked her out. She fell and hurt her ankle, then bumped into Stefan, who was there, visiting some family members.

"Oh. I must've dropped it when I…thank you," Elena smiles at Stefan. Just then, Emily's eyes caught sight of Stefan's fairly large ring, a sapphire lined with silver. Quite interesting. Must be some family heirloom thing.  
"Don't worry, I didn't…read it," he tells seriously, exchanging glances between her and Emily.  
"No?" Emily asks doubtfully. "Why not? Most people would have," she states.

Stefan turns to her. So, in order to win Elena, he would have to please her older sister. He doesn't mind.

"Well, I…wouldn't want anyone to read mine," he explains. Elena widens her eyes at him. Emily is impressed at the reply, but doubts its truth.  
"You keep a journal?" Elena asks in disbelief. Emily studies him carefully.  
"Yeah. If I don't, I forget…Memories are…too important," he tells. Elena feels a mad rush of feelings towards him upon hearing that. Emily is satisfied with his sincerity.

Elena then invites Stefan to the Grill with her. She gets her jacket, they say their goodbyes to Emily and leave.

Sometime later, Jeremy comes home. Emily talks briefly to him about what he'd done at school. He listens half-heartedly, but nevertheless, feels guilty for the hint of disappointment and hurt in his older sister's eyes. He promises to try harder, and she believes him.

XXX

The next day, after college, Emily heads out late. Her siblings were out at the annual bonfire party, and Jenna was late at work.

She drove to the Mystic Grill, which was far from crowded. She just needed some air. A change of scenery.

"Another one, Richards," Emily told the bartender that considered her a regular.  
"Long night, Gilbert?" he asked whilst cleaning a mug with a towel.

**Damon**, who was making his way to the bar, after having fed on one of the local students at the bonfire, caught fast the uttered name.

Gilbert.

So, this was one of the siblings.

Good.

"Just a boring one," Emily replies. She was wearing a black blouse and jeans. Her faint-gold colored, leather jacket and black purse were clutched lazily in her lap. Her brown, shoulder-length hair was set free to roam.

Damon smirks.

"Understandable," Richards replies. He hands her the drink, and is beckoned by another customer.

"Emily Gilbert, right?" a voice asks. Emily turns her face to a stranger's. His eyes glazed a gloomy sky, skin as pale as a ghost's, hair as black as charcoal, and a smile that made her heart skip eight beats at once.

He heard.

Quickly recomposing her stature, Emily masked her eyes to show little interest, and tone aim neutral. "Who's asking?" she retorts.  
"Damon Salvatore," he replies, stretching out his hand.

A look of realization falls upon her, and she instantly recognizes the last name.

She shakes his hand and smiles softly, ignoring how cold he felt. It was a cold evening. "Stefan's brother." she says.  
"The one and only," Damon smiles.

Emily doesn't find it odd that Elena hadn't mentioned Damon, considering her sibling had just met Stefan. She probably didn't know he had a brother. Neither did Emily, until then.

"And you must be Elena's sister," he smirks.  
"The one and only," she smiles.  
"I see our siblings have made fast friends," he notes casually.  
"Indeed they have," Emily nods happily at the thought.  
"Perhaps…**we** should get to know each other," Damon offers slyly. Emily thinks for a moment.  
"…Agreed," she utters curiously.

Each wanted to get to know the other for their own reasons, but they had one goal in common, knowing about the other one's sibling.

If Stefan was to become a potential boyfriend of Elena's, it was best to find out as much as possible about him and his family, starting with Damon here.

Damon himself, on the other hand, well, had different reasons.

So, what was Damon doing?

In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure.

The Salvatore had had one goal, for a long time now, and he was this close to achieving. Part of that process meant coming back to Mystic Falls, his home town,

where it all started.

This also meant reuniting with his brother, whom he hadn't seen for the past fifteen years. Stefan doesn't even know he's back!

Damon did his readings before returning of course. He, being as curious as a cat, wanted to know why his brother came back too.

His brother.

That was a long story. But, it's safe to say, their relationship was at a bit of a fall.

For one, Damon stubbornly refused Stefan's new way of life, a life without feeding. It made him weak! Could he not see that?

And for two…Elena. She wasn't on Damon's agenda, though he was curious, but knowing that Stefan was after her, she who looked exactly like **her**, bothered him, and he wasn't even sure why. It just did.

He'd find that he'd conducted several side quests. First was being to force Stefan back into the regular feeding process. And second, complicate things between him and Elena, just for the sake of bitterness.

But one had to analyze their assets, and Emily was Elena's sister, a perfect way in.

"So, are you a high school student?" he asks, ordering a drink and leaning on the counter with his elbow.

He knew she wasn't, but anything to pave the path.

As he waved at the bartender, Emily noticed the large ring on his finger, much like Stefan's. Definitely an heirloom thing.

Emily turns her attention to him. "College, actually."  
"Figured you looked different," he states. She squints her eyes at him.  
"Different how?"  
"Well, you're here, by yourself, sipping root beer on a party night, dressed like that," he states, proudly observant. She furrows her eyebrows in slight offence.  
"Like what?"  
"Simple, yet sexy," he smirks mischievously. She cocks an eyebrow at him. "Not your typical high school look."  
"It's called having class," she notes, fairly enjoying the conversation, and wondering why she found him so attractive. Elena always told her she had weird, toxic taste. She couldn't help it.  
"Touché," he winks, taking a sip from his glass of whisky. Her heart jumps again. It was ridiculous.

Though she wasn't one to take flirting positively, he was Stefan's brother, and her mind stupidly convinced her that taking compliments from her sister's friend/potential boyfriend's brother was okay.

"So what class are you in?" he asks curiously, putting the glass down.  
"English."  
"Any specific reason?"  
"I'm good at it."  
"One of the best reasons," he smirks, agreeing. She smiles in amusement.

"What about you, stranger? Where'd you come from?" she asks curiously.  
"Florida. I move around a lot. You know, see the world," he draws, knowing it was almost every girl's dream.  
"Sounds fun," she smiles at the thought.  
"Yeah? Thinking about taking a trip?" She chuckles at that. Like she ever could.  
"Not exactly," she tells.  
"Oh?"  
"Well, I would like to move out of Mystic Falls," she exhales, somewhat quietly. Damon notes. "But that's not happening any time soon."  
"Why do you say that?"

She turns to him, wondering if she ought to say. It's not that she wasn't supposed to, it was that she tended to avoid the topic, but he could use the explanation.

"My parents died, four months ago," she winces at her own words. Damon, who rarely batted an eye at the thought of death, feigned sympathy.  
"I'm so sorry," he tells. She shakes her head in dismiss, wanting the subject closed.  
"Anyways. I can't leave. My siblings need me," she smiles at the thought of them. Damon smirks in irony.  
"I know what you mean…My parents are dead too," he offers. She turns to him in petty. "And, you know, I try to be there for Stefan, but he…has a tendency to push me away," he tells as if sadly.

What Damon had in mind, was that whatever bad he would say about Stefan to Emily, she would say to Elena.

Emily smiles gloomily. "My brother does the same thing. But I don't let him, you know…He's stubborn, and's been making some bad decisions," bad was an understatement, "If I push too hard, he'll push back. It's kind of a tug of war thing, but it's the only way that actually works, you know" she says.

Damon listens intently. He'd been mulling over how to convince Stefan to feed probably. Should he just force it? Should he talk?

But, though Emily's suggestion sounded frustrating, it also seemed convincing. Better than what he had planned anyways.

Damon smirks at her words. "I like you," he notes, causing her to tense suddenly out of nervousness. "Lemme buy you a drink."

Just then, her phone buzzes in her bag, snatching their attention. "Sorry," she utters for the interruption. She pulls it out. Seeing Elena's name, she picks up. "It's Elena," she states. Damon nods as in 'take it; it's cool'.

"Hey," she calls through.  
_ "Hey, Em…Are you doing anything right now?" _Elena asks.

With his heightened hearing, Damon could hear every word.

"Why?" Emily retorts.  
_ "Something's…__**happened**__, at the party…Vicki got attacked," _she says. Emily's eyes widen in concern. Damon hides a smirk, and keeps a placid expression of wariness for her widened eyes. _"The cops are all over the place. Me and Jeremy could use a ride home."_  
"I'll be right there," Emily tells in haste.

"Is everything okay?" Damon asks when she hangs up.  
"Uh, yeah. I just…something's happened at the party. I have to go," she replies, too clouded by concern.

She rises to her feet, and stumbles to collect her belongings and put on her jacket. "Do you need a ride?" Damon asks, faking politeness.  
"No, it's okay. I've got my car," she assures. "It was nice meeting you, Damon."  
"Right back at you," he raises his glass. She spares one final smile before turning away, and giving attention to her pulsing head and hammering heart.

XXX

"What happened?" Emily asks them. Elena was seated beside her, and Jeremy in the back. They looked more shocked than anything. "Details."  
"Well…" Elena starts reluctantly. "Jeremy got drunk."  
"**Seriously**?!" Jeremy protests from the back. Emily tenses.  
"It's what **happened**!" Elena shouts back tiredly.  
"**Anyways**!" Emily calls their attentions.  
"He went into the woods. I followed him…then he fell…onto her," Elena continues, growing uncomfortably quiet.  
"She was bleeding," Jeremy says warily. Emily scrunches her face, looking at him through the mirror. "From her neck."

Emily feels her heart jump at the last statements.

It couldn't be.

…Could it?

No. It couldn't.

"I'm sorry you guys had to see that, but hey…she's gonna be okay," Emily assures them firmly, smiling softly at her shaken up siblings.

They listen, needing to believe her.

"How about we all go home, wash up, get under a blanket, and watch a movie, or something to take your minds off of it before we sleep," she tells. They consider. Elena solely nods, and Jeremy squirms in the back.  
"I don't wanna see anything," he tells tiredly.  
"You don't have to, honey. Just get under the blanket and eat free popcorn. How does that sound?" He smiles slightly.  
"Yeah…okay," he nods as well.

"So…aside from a gruesome ending, did we have fun tonight? Huh? Jeremy?"  
"Meh."  
"Oh, come on. Anything?"  
"He got drunk," Elena offers sarcastically.  
"Screw you, Elena!"  
"Hey! No such words in my car!"  
"Why do you do it, then?! We're here for you! We're always here for you! Why do you keep doing this?!" Elena insists, having had enough.

But it wasn't that easy, was it? For him to cut back, to cope with going back to school, with the questions of being okay, with the teachers, professor Tanner…and Vicki.

It wasn't easy.

"**Because**, Elena…It's hard," Emily tells. Elena widens her eyes at her sister, who was taking Jeremy's side for some reason. Jeremy stops as well, looking at her. "We get it, Jer, we really do. I mean, we're **all** part of this. If you think we're coping great, we're fucking not," she speaks strictly.

Elena swallows the lump in her throat, as if her sister's words triggered the feelings she'd been trying to hide all day.

"But we **try**. I know you do too. And I know how badly that hurts, but you **can** fight it," she says. Jeremy clenches his jaw, fighting back tears. "I need you to try harder. For me. For **us**…Okay?"  
"…Yeah," he nods reluctantly, letting guilt consume his heart for that moment,

for them.

Emily smiles happily at his reply. Elena fights the urge to hug her sister.

They reach the house and enter it. The siblings separate to their rooms, and Emily heads to Jenna for questioning.

"They're early. What's going on?" Jenna asks cautiously, tea-cup in hand.  
"Vicki…got attacked at the party," Emily says, tensing at that once more.

It just couldn't be what she thought it was. She hasn't seen one for years.

No.

She'd **never **seen one.

She only guessed it was one back then, and she was guessing now. She ought to stop.

"**Attacked**?! By **who**?!" Jenna exclaims.  
"An…animal," Emily replies uncertainly. Jenna takes this in.  
"Oh my god," she utters. "Well, is she okay?"  
"Yeah. She'll be alright. Lena and Jer are a little shaken up. So, I told them to wash up. We're watching a movie. Wanna join?" Emily asks, tossing her bag and jacket onto the counter.

Upon hearing this, Jenna smiles shaking her head slightly. "You are way better at this than I am," she breathes, putting the cup down. Emily smiles sympathetically, approaching her. She places her hands on Jenna's shoulders and gives them a squeeze.  
"I wish you'd stop saying that. You have no idea what you being here means for us," Emily insists, allowing her mask of bravery to fall just for emphasize.

Jenna smiles at her nephew proudly and embraces her tightly. She pulls back and brushes a strand of Emily's loose hair behind her ear. "You're just like your mother," she tells softly, eyes tearing up slightly. Emily simply smiles back, feeling the words do more harm to her than they should. "I'll go make the popcorn."

XXX

A few hours later, they separate paths, somewhat refreshed. Emily wakes up mid-night, headed to the bathroom. She'd seen on her cat-clock that it was three fourteen, so when she bumped into Stefan in the hallway, she was fairly confused.

With her tired eyes squinted, she stared up at him in utter confusion. "Stefan? What're you doing here?" she asks.  
"I…uhhh," he starts. Hearing the commotion, Elena comes out as well, wide-eyed.  
"Emily. Hey. You're up," she states weirdly.  
"Yeah. So are you," she says pointedly.

Stefan looks to the ground awkwardly. Elena mouths silent, confused words. "W-uh-We were just talking," she tells. Emily cocks an eyebrow.  
"Three in the morning?" she adds, crossing her arms, and smirking mischievously.  
"We lost track of time," Stefan offers.

She considered the way they looked. Elena was still dressed, and her hair was still straight. Stefan seemed untouched.

She nodded in consideration. "Okaaay," she draws. An odd moment of silence passes.  
"I'm just gonna…go now," Stefan states at last.  
"Sure you don't wanna stay the night?" Emily asks slyly. Elena widens her eyes at her in shock. Stefan studies the wild question, then smiles knowingly.  
"It's late," he says. Emily smiles brightly.  
"Right answer," she grins. Elena smiles in relief.  
"I'll walk you out," Elena says.

Emily waits for her to do so in the kitchen. There was nothing wrong with her sister bringing home a guy, only, she'd only known him for **two** days!

Emily casually asks Elena what they were talking about. Elena tells her there was barely anything they left unsaid. That they talked for hours and that she'd never felt this connected to anyone before, and by anyone, she meant Matt, her ex, and Vicki's brother.

Emily calmly hints not to move too fast, and Elena nods in consideration, then retires to sleep, and Emily does the same.

XXXXX


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was an odd one. First, it was getting fairly depressing for Emily at college. She didn't know what was wrong, but she was suddenly really bad at making friends.

Then there was Jenna, who had been called for a parent-teacher conference about Jeremy with Mr. Tanner, who Emily remembered to be an ass.

Jenna came home quite stressed from the conversation she'd had with him. He was quite rude, and disrespectful to her position as their guardian. He said that Jeremy skipped six classes since the start of school, and stated that he was probably in use of drugs.

Emily took all this in, and assured Jenna that she was doing fine, and that they all should get a little tougher on Jer.

Then there was what happened with Elena. She'd gone over to Stefan's, and was met by his brother instead, who said some fairly stunning things.

He told her that Stefan had just been out of a serious relationship with a woman named Kathrine, and that he probably hadn't told her because he was afraid she'd think he was on rebound.

Then Stefan interrupted that conversation, and thanked Elena for coming over, as in 'leave', which sorta hurt her feelings, especially when he continued to glare at his brother, and spoke no more, till she left.

Hearing this, Emily was quite confused herself. She'd met Stefan, and she'd told Elena about her meeting with Damon at the Grill. Both men seemed nice enough. She couldn't see why their feud would be as raging as her sister expressed it to be. But Elena wasn't one to exaggerate. Emily believed her.

Nevertheless, she told Elena what Damon had told her about Stefan, as Damon had hoped she would.

Though this did little to reassure Elena, it was important she had all the pieces.

XXX

With everything that had happened, an event was occurring that was bound to unite everyone once more.

Emily drove her siblings off to the town square to witness the passing of the comet with their friends.

Despite Elena's persistent inviting to stay, Emily let them be, and made her way to the Mystic Grill. She parked and discreetly climbed up to the rooftop.

Emily couldn't quite explain why she enjoyed being by herself at most. Maybe it was the constant feeling of being misunderstood, of the inability to connect to anyone on a personal level, of feeling as though everyone around her was concerned with nothing but the silliest of what life had to offer.

The passing of her parents affected her greatly. Nothing small shone as bright any more. There was no light. The only light she ever saw was in the honest smiles of her loving siblings, and even that was rare.

It hurt. It sucked.

As she stood leaning against the fence, drink in hand and eyes fixated on the hasting ball of light that set course to an unknown destination.

In that sole moment, when watching something as wondrous, as beautiful as such an occurrence, that little ball of light swimming admits an ocean of darkness…she felt hope.

She smiled.

Only when hearing the faint sound of footsteps did she turn in caution to face the intruder.

"Easy there, tiger. It's just me," he drew, smirking as he approached her side.  
"Damon," she smiled knowingly. "What're you doing here?" she asks.  
"Figured you could use some company," he shrugs, honest for once, even if he only came out of boredom. Wouldn't sit in the house forever. "Unless you're trying to avoid people. In that case, I can go," he started coyly, luring her in for the sake of game.  
"No. Stay," she dismissed humorously. He smirked as she offered him a bottle. He took it graciously and popped it open.

"So, where're your perky college pals?" he asks curiously. Emily inhales tensely, taking another sip. She hums thoughtfully for an appropriate answer.  
"I'm sort of a lone wolf…I like to hang by myself," she tells, casually shrugging. Damon nods.  
"Who needs people, right?"  
"Yeah," she smiles in agreement.

Besides the fact that the Salvatore actually disliked people, he was well-aware that her reasoning was different. It's not a matter of want for her, it's a matter of ability. She** can't **deal with people, and covering it up by 'lone wolf' both impressed him, and made him consider her pathetic.

Humans and their emotions. Like they knew anything.

Whilst he grimaced at the idea of being human, and attempted to analyze why in the world his brother would want to be one, Emily's thoughts rolled back to the conversation she'd had with Elena the day before, about the odd incident with Stefan and Damon.

She might as well attempt to figure it out then.

"Elena told me you and her met yesterday," she starts. Damon turns to her, processing her words. He hides a smirk at the mischief he'd caused that day.

"Uh, yeah. Great girl. Really polite. **Almost** as pretty as you," he smirks. Emily cocks a 'seriously?' eyebrow at his flirt-attempt. He gazed at her intently, and she looked away, shaking her head in amusement, but mainly attempting to hide her foolish blushing.

She brushed it off.

"She told me about Kathrine," Emily continues. Damon's face falls slightly at the name, but upon remembering that he was using that topic to get to Stefan, he finds it in him to resume the act.

"In my defense, I honestly didn't know Stefan hadn't told her. And I got the feeling I made things pretty awkward," he winces.  
"You did," Emily nods. "She told me…how Stefan reacted. It's must have been bad. How exactly did things end between them?" she asks.

Damon grimaces.

"…She died," he says, stunning the Gilbert beside him. Emily is unable to comprehend what he'd just said. "In a fire. Tragic fire…," he continued absently, caressing the bottle in his hand tensely.  
"…Recently?" Emily inquires, fairly worried now.

Damon turns to her, fabricating an appropriate lie. "Seems like it was yesterday," he smiles in dismiss. Maybe it was a lie for Stefan…but it wasn't for him.

And, the thing was…Emily could see it.

There was only one way to figure out what she'd started to suspect.

"What was she like?" Emily asks. Damon turns to her once more. He couldn't remember the last time, or if he was ever, asked that question.

Talking about her. He wasn't sure that that was something he wanted to do…but he did anyways.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts, and Emily waited patiently.

The soft breeze of the cool wind continued to float about them like a coat of water. The comet alight in the distance, and stars sprinkled across a blanket of ink in the sky. The moon shone down like spotlight on the town of Mystic Falls and all its residence.

It was quiet, it was peaceful, it paved a smooth path for thoughts to rise, and memories to return.

Damon spoke.

"She was beautiful," he started. He felt his chest grow heavy, and so his mind looked for a counter. He turned to Emily. "A lot like you, in that department," he told. She smirked in flattery.

He turned away once more, in deep thought, though his words were quick, as if he was attempting to rip off a bandage. "She was also very complicated, and selfish. And at times, not very kind…But very sexy and seductive," he smirked once more.

That was all Emily needed to hear to confirm her suspicions.

The Gilbert nods in thought. She hums. "So…which one of you dated her first?" she asked coyly. Damon stared blankly at her for a minute,

then chuckled.

"Nicely deduced," he tells. "…My answer differs from Stefan's," he simply gave, shaking his head in dismiss.

Emily studies him carefully. For the first time since meeting Damon, she could see raw emotions mirrored across his face, and she could see how hard he tried to hide them,

like she ever so often did herself.

"I'm sorry," she utters. He turns to her, fairly confused, and about to ask 'what for'. "About Kathrine," Emily states. Damon attempts to process her intention, which seemed unclear for some reason. "You lost her too," Emily tells seriously.

Damon was left baffled by her words. He could hear her heartbeats, read her face.

She meant it.

She actually did.

She wasn't just saying it.

She meant it.

The words she'd said were one's he'd never heard.

She made him feel something no one had for a long time, she made him feel like he had the right to grief.

Damon notes he'd been quiet for almost a minute, whilst she was busy admiring his features, and those gorgeous, blue eyes.

He smiles at her in gratitude, and looks away once more. They stand in silence for several minutes, enjoying the quiet, and the strange comfort of each other's company.

Then Emily excuses herself to the bathroom, and Damon heads down with her to order a stronger drink at the bar.

That was when he came across Vicki.

XXX

After exiting the bathroom, Emily is unable to find Damon, and when she gets a call from her sibling that they couldn't find Vicki, and asked if she'd seen her, Emily said that she hadn't, but that she'd help look for her.

After spending several minutes asking about her in the Grill, she exited through the back door, assuming Vicki would be some place as such.

She eyes about, sees no sign of her, then heads to look elsewhere.

Turning a corner, she collides harshly with someone, nearly stumbling to fall when she was held back in place.

Her eyes catch sight of who it was, and she sighs in relief. "Damon," she breathes.  
"Hey, you okay?" he smirks at her jump.  
"Yeah," she nods as he lets her go. "I lost you back there, Where'd you go?" she asks curiously.  
"Oh. I…had a run in with Stefan," he says, feigning sorrow.  
"That bad?" she winces.  
"It's…a work in progress," he tells. She nods doubtfully.

Emily gets a text saying that they'd found Vicki and were ready to go. She furrows her eyebrows at that. Already?

"What's wrong?" Damon asks suspiciously.  
"Elena says she wants to leave," she states worriedly.  
"Why? Did something happen?"  
"I'm not sure…But, I have to go," she smiles in apology. Damon nods in understanding. Then he gets a thought.

The night before, he'd attacked a reckless couple in the woods. Word was spreading that danger was evident in Mystic Falls, even though it was just him.

For example, when they'd just thought Vicki was missing, she'd actually been kidnapped by Damon to attract Stefan's attention. A soft attempt at getting him to feed.

Emily was right the night before, by pushing too hard, Stefan fought back, so, Damon took a step back, and let it slide…This time.

Anyways, he'd been considering how to get closer to the Gilberts. This was his next step.

"I'll walk you," he tells. She nods happily as they stroll down the streets to the town square. "So, I don't mean to sound weird or anything, but," he hands her a small piece of paper with his number on it. He explains. "There's been a lot of recent attacks in Mystic Falls lately. Chaos usually serves as a good decoy for someone who wants to cause real trouble. If something ever happens. Give me a call. I'll be there," he tells seriously, surprised he was able to keep a straight face.

Emily processes his words, then turns to him graciously. She smiles brightly, innocently mistaking his lie for truth.

"I appreciate your concern, Damon. But don't worry, I'm very capable of taking care of myself, and my family. I have quite the bit of training," she says dismissively. He furrows his eyebrows at that.  
"Really?" he asks.  
"Yeah, I-"  
"Emily," Elena calls, approaching her sister with Jeremy.

She notes Damon, and tenses. Jeremy is indifferent.

"Damon," she utters, more, questions. Jeremy studies Damon, as if sizing him up.

Emily notes the distress in her sister's eyes. Seems things with Stefan were still sour.

"Hello, Elena," Damon smiles softly. Elena smiles back reluctantly. He notes the younger Gilbert. "And you must be Jeremy," Damon says, stretching out his hand. "Stefan's brother." Jeremy, who seemed in a daze, took his hand weirdly.

Damon could clearly see the effect of alcohol or whatever the kid took on him. He feels the slightest ping of sympathy for Emily, and disgust with Jeremy.

Nevertheless, Emily is fairly content with Damon's politeness, and thought him all the more enticing. But noting how uncomfortable, for different reasons, her siblings seemed, she breaks off the awkwardness with a simple question.

"We ready to go?" she asks. Elena turns to her as if in relief.  
"Yeah," she utters.

They say their goodbyes and leave.

"What were you doing with Damon?" Elena asks her sibling suspiciously. Emily's heart jumps. Jeremy grins from the back seat, and scoots forward, placing his head in the space between them.  
"Yeah, Emily. What were you doing with the other Salvatore brother?" he questions in amusement.  
"Seriously?" Emily asks irritably. Elena smirks. "We were just talking," she says.  
"That's what me and Stefan were doing last night," Elena notes.  
"Okay, not that kinda talk," Emily says firmly. Elena grins. "We were talking about…Kathrine," Emily states warily. Elena's face falls.  
"Who's Katherine?" Jeremy asks in confusion.  
"Stefan's ex…and apparently, Damon's too," Emily explains weirdly. They furrow their eyebrows at her.  
"What do you mean?" Elena asks.  
"Threesome!" Jeremy exclaims.  
"Jeremy!" both girls shout in unison. He simply giggles in reply, moving back to pull out his earphones. Emily turns her attention back to her sister.  
"One of them dated her before the other. Damon didn't give me a definite answer…the point is…she died."  
"…What?" Elena utters.  
"In a fire. Now, the reason I'm telling you this, is because…I want you to reconsider your reluctance about the situation. I want you to talk to Stefan…" Emily tells.

Elena takes a moment to process the information heavily.

Several minutes of silence pass. When Emily is about to take a turn to their house, Elena stops her, requesting she be taken to Stefan's…and Emily complies.

XXX

As Emily drives home with Jeremy, he sits in the back, frustration bubbling in his chest at what he'd seen.

Vicki kissing Tyler.

It seemed, no matter what he did, he'd never win her, and he couldn't understand why.

Emily notes his tense face as he stared out the window. She pushes her hand back to poke his knee. He takes his speakers off and turns to her.

"What?" he asks.  
"You okay?" she retorts worriedly.  
"…I'm fine," he replies, about to put them back on.  
"Hey. No. Wait…Talk to me," Emily insists. Jeremy sighs.  
"What do you wanna talk about?" he asks tiredly.  
"…Vicki," she replies. Jeremy glares at her as if in offense. "We shouldn't chase after those who don't appreciate us, Jer," she tells.

She, of course, had picked up on what had been going on between them through the summer. The late phone-calls, the sneaking out, the weird glances in public.

But then she'd see Vicki with Tyler, and she'd watch her brother's face fall with sadness more than anger.

She didn't want that for him.

But she wasn't stupid. She wasn't clueless. What the heart wanted, wasn't something one could so easily shut away. It took time. Acceptance, as a first step, was the most difficult.

"…I don't wanna talk about it," he tells firmly. Emily exhales. Her features calm. One step at a time.  
"Fine. How about you tell me which flavor ice-cream to buy this time, cause I'm confused," she smirks. Jeremy shakes his head in amusement. What would he do without her?

XXX

Emily and Jeremy enter the house. Jenna wasn't home yet. The two separate to their rooms exhausted, even though it hadn't been that long of a night.

As Emily undresses, she hears the crunching of paper in her jacket pocket. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pushes her hand in, and pulls out a small piece of paper, with Damon's number on it.

A look of realization crosses her face, she smiles.

Sitting on the bed with phone and paper in hand, she debated calling him as he'd requested.

Was she nervous? She thought that silly. But she was.

She shouldn't. They were friends. Well, more acquaintances. Their siblings were getting together. That didn't mean they should to, but they should at least get to know each other.

If only she knew he was using her…

Emily dials his number.

It rings.

XXX

As Damon sat in the living room, fingers lazily playing tunes across the grand piano's keys, a drink in his other hand.

His phone sounds in his pocket. He pulls it out curiously, smirking upon seeing a stranger's number. He knew who it was.

"This is Damon," he called through.  
_"Hi, Damon…It's Emily," _she replies.  
"Oh. Emily. Hi…I'm glad you called. It took you a while. I was getting worried," he played.  
_ "That's because I stopped by your house earlier to drop off Elena,"_ she explains. Damon furrows his eyebrows.  
"Oh?" he asks, rising to the window and looking out.  
_"Yeah…She wanted to talk to Stefan."_  
"Yeah, I see them," Damon says irritably, but tries not to show it.  
_"Does it look like they're working things out?" _Emily asks curiously.  
"Well, they're kissing," he cringes in disgust. "A good sign," he forces out in a happy tone.  
_"Definitely," _Emily grins. _"They've been through a lot…they deserve to be happy," _she says. Damon clenches his jaw in annoyance. He pulls away from the window.

What about them?

"…Are **you** happy, Emily?" he retorts as if in counter.  
_"…What do you mean?" _she asks, confused with the odd question. Yet, she felt her heart pinch in pain…

Was she happy?

Damon shakes his head. "Nothing…Think I had a little too much to drink…I'ma call it a night before I do something stupid," he smirks tiredly. She chuckles.  
_"…Goodnight, Damon."_  
"Goodnight, Emily."

Damon hangs up and furrows his eyebrows at the phone. He really needed to keep a led on his emotions. Stupid emotions.

But he wouldn't shut them off.

He wouldn't.

The Salvatore's mind suddenly threw out a warning. _'You're getting too close to her,'_ it says.

Emily.

Yes, she was his way in, but compulsion free. He didn't need to, which was good, yes, but, it was almost as if they were becoming friends…which felt strange…he couldn't remember the last time he'd had one.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should find another, compulsion-related way in, at least those were completely fake.

Meh…It was too late in the day to plot and stuff. Damon finished his drink, and rose to his room.

XXXXX


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Elena comes back from school, and tells Emily about an issue that rose between Bonnie and Stefan. She complained that Bonnie stated that she'd accidently touched Stefan the night before, during the passing of the comet, and got some sort of bad feeling. And now she didn't like him, **at all**.

Emily understood why this was a problem for Elena. Bonnie was her best friend, and Stefan…well…was her something special. She couldn't risk them not getting along, Emily understood.

So, Elena informed her that as her way of solving it, she invited both of them to dinner that night,

and that she wanted Emily to invite Damon.

"What?" Emily asks in confusion.  
"I just think that, since I'm trying to get Bonnie and Stefan to get along, it would be a good idea to do the same with Damon and Stefan. Besides, an extra person around will keep Bonnie's…stress…at bay," Elena says weirdly, knowing how her stubborn friend was bound to get when her mind was made up. "What'd you think?" she asks her sister.

Emily thinks it over for a moment. The idea sounded plausible. She doubted it would be simple though, but even if it all hit the fan, she wanted to see the extent of Salvatore brothers' feud for herself.

"Fine. I'll give him a call," she says. Elena smiles happily.  
"Perfect. Jeremy says he'll be home late. Jenna's working late, and Bonnie's coming over to help me prepare. By the time you're back from college, it'll all be set," she tells. Emily nods in approval.

She climbs up to her room, and informs Damon of the situation, he who had reconsidered her alliance, had no doubt it was the right decision then. She was opening the door widely, making it un-expectantly easy, and she was so innocently doing so, he mildly felt bad using her, **mildly**.

So he would be invited in…Perfect.

Stefan had no idea, and, according to Emily, it was best if the situation was kept a surprise, so the Salvatore would bother showing up. Damon was thankful it was she who had said so.

While Damon was proud of the plan for his own reasons, Emily was too, also for different reasons.

Fixing things between the Salvatores was something she was looking forward to. Though her silly heart was mostly looking forward to seeing Damon again.

Shaking her thoughts away, the Gilbert then departed to attend her classes.

XXX

Alas, it was time. Emily came home and helped Bonnie and Elena set the table. A few minutes later, Stefan arrives.

At the dinner table, they sat. Emily pulled her phone out underneath the table and discreetly texted Damon, asking him where he was, as she did not want him to miss dinner. He replied that he was close, and was fairly pleased with the attention he'd grasped from her.

She turned back to the conversation at hand, and realized there wasn't one.

Well, that wasn't good.

She turns from Bonnie, to Stefan, to Elena. Bonnie had her face in her plate blankly. Stefan and Elena were making awkward eye-contact, uncertain what to say.

They needed rescue.

Emily turned to Stefan. "So, Stefan," she starts, smiling enthusiastically. They all turn their attention to her in relief. "I hear you tried out for the team," she says. Stefan smiles and Elena turns to him proudly.  
"Uh, yeah. Elena convinced me to give it a shot," he says. She raises her eyebrows in interest, though she already knew.  
"I haven't been to the school in a while. Hope Tanner's been treating you well," she grins in sarcasm. The others chuckle and Bonnie spares an amused smile. Nobody liked Tanner.  
"Well, he let me on the team. So, I must have done something right," he says.  
"Bonnie. You should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and he-" Elena starts, but Bonnie cuts her off.  
"Yeah. I heard," she says nonchalantly.

They fall awkwardly silent once more. Emily attempts to read where Bonnie was coming from. What was with her?

She may not have known the Bennet as well as Elena, but she knew enough to recognize that this was not her usual behavior.

Elena sips some of her coke, then tries again. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" she suggests. Bonnie glares irritably at her, and twists the topic.  
"Um. Divorced. No mom. Live with my dad," she says, spreading about the discomfort she was feeling, causing Emily to wander where in the world Damon was. She was certain he would somehow make this easier. He seemed like a talker.  
"No. About the witches," Elena states. Bonnie glares at her once more. Stefan snaps to Elena at the word. Emily leans in in interest. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really **cool**," Elena glares back in hint.  
"'Cool' isn't the word I'd use," she retorts tiredly.  
"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan assures. Emily turns to him happily. "I'm not…too versed, but I know that there's a history of…Celtic Druids, that migrated here in the eighteen hundreds," he pushes encouragingly.  
"My family came here by way of Salem," Bonnie corrects.

Emily furrows her eyebrows in concentration. She'd heard little of them, but knew them to be a fairly powerful group.

"Really? Salem witches? I'd say that's pretty cool," Stefan says in interest. Bonnie turns to him in annoyance.  
"Really? Why?" she asks, assuming he was just trying to win her consent. Stefan straightens up and speaks seriously, a soft smile decorating his graceful features.  
"Salem witches are heroic examples of…individualism and nonconformity," he says enthusiastically.

Emily listens to him intently. Elena had told her he was a history geek. Guess she was right.

Bonnie smiles genuinely at Stefan's words alas. "Yeah, they are," she retorts proudly.

Things were looking up.

The siblings smile.

"So, Bonnie," Emily starts. "You think you can predict something for us?" she offers in amusement.

Bonnie turns to her, lighter in mood now. She exhales as if in relief of tension, then squints her eyes in concentration. A few seconds pass as they all await anxiously in curiosity.

Then,

she whispers…

"Someone's at the door."

The doorbell immediately rings, startling them. It takes them a moment to comprehend the Bennet's come-true prediction warily.

The Gilbert siblings suddenly recall who it could be. Emily turns to Elena in wonder. Had she told Bonnie?

She hadn't…

Stefan stares at Bonnie intently.

There was a witch in town, it seemed…

"I'll get it," Emily assures, rising to her feet.

She opens the door expectantly, to a smirking Damon, with a box of cake in hand. "Damon," she smiles as if in relief, not to mention, immediate admiration. She'd forgotten how gorgeous he was.  
"Emily," he retorts politely in greet.

Yeah, right. Damon? Polite. He ought to star in a movie after this.

Stefan's eyes widen at the name. He rises. Elena hurriedly rises after him as Bonnie sat expectantly waiting.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asks, coming to stand by Emily, who furrows her eyebrows at him.  
"I invited him," she then says defensively, refusing to throw Damon and Elena under the bus. Stefan turns to her in both shock and disappointment, guilt-striking her.

This would be far from easy.

Nevertheless, it was the whole point of the dinner.

"Come i-"  
"No, no, no!" Stefan exclaims, cutting her off. She eyes him weirdly. Damon hides a smirk as Stefan attempts to explain. "He can't…um," he turns to Damon coldly. "He can't stay," he turns to Emily once more, then to Elena. Emily chuckles, as if doubting Stefan's level of seriousness.  
"What'd you mean, he can't come in?" she asks, tone turning strict at his serious impoliteness. Stefan turns to her, slightly panicking as Elena stood expectantly as well, and Bonnie peeked out from the kitchen.

"I…We're just finishing up," he tries.  
"Well, he brought dessert," Elena states.  
"I mean, I totally understand if you want me to leave," Damon starts mischievously. Emily snaps to him.  
"No," she calls in panic of a serious, yet, unnecessary problem. "Just come on in," she tells.  
"Yeah," Elena nods. Stefan's lets out a breath of defeat.

There was nothing he could do now. She'd said the words. There was no stopping him.

Damon smiles at them graciously,

and steps in.

As he walked in, he stared intently at Stefan, smirking victoriously.

…Emily noted this.

She furrowed her eyebrows.

Something was off.

Stefan glares intently at Elena for quite obviously tricking him into this. She eyes him in serious confusion about his attitude.

Emily's attention was fixated on Damon as he eyed around, then turned to them once more. "You have a beautiful home," he states politely.

But Emily didn't feel it this time, especially when he locked gaze with Stefan once more, as if mocking him.

Emily's heart clenched. Something was definitely wrong there. Wrong with Damon.

"Thank you," Elena retorts.

Bonnie then walks out in confusion. "You must be Bonnie," Damon says, stretching out his hand. She eyed his hand grimly, refusing to touch another Salvatore. She let out a forced smile, and gave a little wave.  
"Yeah. That's me," she says weirdly, glaring at the Gilbert hosts.

Damon smirks. It would be quite the night.

Emily steps forward. "Right, so. This way, ladies and gentlemen," she smirks. If it would be a stressful night, she would make the most of it.

Damon turns to her admirably. It would definitely be quite the night.

Emily leads them to the living room.

"Do you want something to eat?" she asks Damon over her shoulder. Stefan tenses at the question.  
"Oh. No, thanks. I already ate," he says, the last statement especially pointed at Stefan. Stefan glares, highly wary. Should he expect another missing person's report on the news the next morning?

_'What is he doing?!'_ wondered Emily. "Okay," she says weirdly.

Emily turns to her sibling, whispering for her in her ear to take Bonnie in the kitchen and see if she was okay about what was going on whilst cutting the cake.

Of course, both boys heard.

Elena complies in understanding as Emily walks into the living room with the Salvatores.

She takes the arm chair opposite Damon, as Stefan took the corner on the couch next to him, so no one would be forced to sit there.

"So," Stefan starts, shocking the other two with his participation. "You two know each other?" he asks, needing to know. _'Is she under his compulsion?'_ he wondered about Emily.

Damon smirks.

"Uh, yeah," Emily replies, acting casual. "We met, at the Mystic Grill, three days ago," she states. Stefan nods thoughtfully. Three days!

Damon nods as well, recalling their encounter and smiling slightly at how nice it was, well, specifically the second one, the night before. He then shakes his thoughts away.

He wasn't that desperate for a friend.

"Yeah. Damon had just moved in from Florida," she resumes, stretching the conversation. "When'd you move back into Mystic Falls, Stefan?"

Stefan takes a moment to process her question, as he was distracted by what else Damon had told her. What story he'd spun, so he'd be forced to follow.

"Uhh, recently. From Denver," he tells honestly. Emily nods.  
"Well, we're glad to have you both back," she smiles politely. Damon is impressed by her social skills, for a person who tends to spend most of her time alone. "Did you tell Damon about you joining the team?" she offers. Stefan clenches his jaw.

Damon leans forward. He knew. But he pretended not to for the sake of conversation.

"You tried out?" he asks Stefan as if curiously.  
"…Yeah," Stefan gives a forced, sole nod.  
"Wow! That's great to hear!" Damon exclaims. Emily smiles, but Stefan's still tense form gets to her.

Damon decides to play the big brother card, something he knew would stew Stefan.

He turns to Emily. "You know; I'm always telling him to engage in life. You can't just sit and wait for it to come to you. You have to go get it," he tells enthusiastically. Stefan resists the urge to throw him a punch.

Advice?! Really?!

"What are we talking about?" Elena asks with a smile, coming in with an annoyed looking Bonnie. They each held plates with slices of the cake Damon had bought, and were lending them around.

Damon became mildly distracted by Elena.

They looked too much alike, Elena…and the one before...

Stefan noticed…

He noticed his brother's wandering eyes as Elena leaned in and handed him a plate.

Though this ignited his rage, it mainly caught his interest.

Could there still be hope for Damon?

"I was just telling Damon that Stefan made the team," Emily says.  
"He didn't know?" Elena furrows her eyebrows. Emily was hoping she wouldn't ask that question. She glances momentarily at Damon, who seemed placid. Stefan, on the other hand, looked awful.

"I mean," Elena notes, smiling nervously as she took her seat between Bonnie and Stefan. "He was great trying out," she smiles proudly at Stefan, who spares her a quick smile. Damon forces a smile to his lips, even though he wanted to crunch his nose in disgust at them.  
"Bonnie and Elena are on the cheerleading team," Emily draws.  
"Really?" Damon asks curiously. He smiles at them, and they smile back.

Damon then furrows his eyebrows. "But…You don't strike me as the cheerleader type, Elena," he says.  
"…I used to be," she says sadly. Bonnie smiles at her in sympathy. Damon notes when Emily's face falls. "I'm trying to get back into it, though," Elena then smiles.  
"…You know…You don't actually have to…It's okay to choose a different path," he notes seriously, knowing that connecting to Elena was sure to bother Stefan.

Elena chuckles slightly. "That's what Emily keeps saying," she states. Damon locks eyes with Emily's, causing her heart to flutter silly.  
"Well, your sister's very wise," he tells, smiling at her. Emily smiles back, breaking eye-contact out of nervousness.

He then clears his throat. "Emily…told me about your parents…I'm sorry," he tells. Elena nods in gratitude at him, though she, and everyone else in the room, preferred avoiding that topic. "Me and Stefan know what it's like to lose both parents," he says. All but Stefan eye him sympathetically. "In fact, Stefan and I have watched every single person we've cared about die-"  
"We don't need to get into that right now," Stefan insists as the others mirror hurt across their faces for them.  
"Oh, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring **her **up again," Damon winces, smiling sympathetically at him.

But it was so obviously fake for Emily.

That was the third card that night.

Something was definitely off.

She refused to let it go on.  
"Damon. A word," she says, rising to her feet and heading to the kitchen. Damon furrows his eyebrows at her. He follows irritably, but curiously.

Stefan listens in.

She grabs a few empty plates off the counter, and starts washing them. She keeps her eyes fixated on them as Damon comes to stand beside her, leaning on the counter expectantly.

"What game are you playing, exactly?" she asks. Damon eyes her in serious confusion.  
"Game?" he retorts. She eyes him as a 'really?'

She discards the plates and wipes her hand down as she speaks. "You told me you wanted to fix things with Stefan. The only thing I've seen since you got here, is a ridiculous form of rivalry, that I find mainly revolving around Katherine," she says.

Damon studies her carefully.

Okay. This wasn't working. She was too smart for her own good. He did not need interventions in his plans.

Damon leans in to her, and she furrows her eyebrows as he speaks slowly. "Let…it…go."  
"…

…

Are you kidding me?"

Emily asks in disbelief.

…

Damon eyes her in utter confusion.

…

What just happened?

Did she just resist his compulsion?

How in the world…

Frustration bubbles in Emily's chest. "Okay, listen closely. What's between you and your brother is **your** business, not mine…" she takes a step forward as Damon eyes her intently, still confused. "But the web your spinning includes his relationship with **my** sister. She gets hurt…I'm coming for **you**," the Gilbert tells firmly and utterly seriously.

…

Damon smirks.

Vervain.

It had to be it.

Nevertheless, it seemed things took an interesting, challenging turn with her.

"Duly noted…miss Gilbert."

XXX

Dinner ends quite abruptly, and far from comfortably, but it ends, thankfully.

Before entering their cars, Damon praises Stefan a job well done at Vervaining the Gilberts. Stefan is utterly baffled by this, and insists an explanation from Damon.

Damon told him about his attempt to compel Emily, which, shockingly for both brothers, came to no avail.

At first, Damon had thought Stefan was attempting to deny what he'd done, but he'd soon discovered that he was being sincere.

So, the question then was: 'Did the Gilberts know?'

For Stefan, this was fairly concerning, and had caused him to rethink the wisdom in his relationship with Elena. For Damon, however,

things were all the more interesting.

After everyone had left, Elena curiously asked about what Emily and Damon had spoken of in the kitchen.

Emily refused to tell her sister about the doubts she'd had about Damon, or the truth of their odd kitchen conversation, causing Elena to automatically assume that Emily was simply into Damon, and was being discreet about it, which was ridiculous, but guessing so was better than knowing the truth, so thought Emily anyways.

The next day, Emily is in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Jenna was still asleep, considering her long night before, so Emily didn't wake her.

Jeremy wakes up after, and is about to head out. "Ah! Here," Emily beckons. He stops in his tracks and rolls his eyes.  
"What?" he asks irritably.  
"Gonna leave without breakfast?" she asks.  
"I'm not hungry," he simply tells.  
"So you're just gonna let me eat these delicious pancakes **alone**? Which, by the way, I spent the last half an hour preparing," she tells. Jeremy rolls his eyes once more, but reluctantly joins her at the kitchen counter.  
"Nobody spends half an hour making pancakes," Jeremy notes, putting some in a plate.  
"Well, I wanted them to be perfect," she smiles silly.  
"So, how was dinner with the mysterious brothers yesterday?" he asks casually.  
"Awful. They hate each other. And I'm pretty sure Damon's trying to piss his brother off at every given opportunity, for reasons I assume are related to the **ex**," she tells. Jeremy cocks his eyebrows, fairly interested in this new family drama.  
"Damn."  
"Yeah. But don't tell Elena about the Damon thing. She doesn't know.  
"Who doesn't know what?" Elena herself asks, walking into the kitchen with a tired yawn.  
"Uhhh, my…culture professor…She doesn't know I…exist," Emily smirks. Jeremy grins at her quick save. She winks at him as Elena pulls juice out the fridge, barely listening.  
"Uhuh," Elena utters in little interest.  
"Don't you look like crap," Jeremy notes at his sister. Elena turns to him in annoyance, glaring irritably.  
"What's wrong, El?" Emily pushes.  
"I had the weirdest dream last night," she says, about to explain, then glances at Jeremy, who immediately grins.  
"What?" he pushes. Emily rolls her eyes. Elena remains her silence. "Oh, come on! Tell us!"  
"No. You're an ass," she retorts, causing Emily to chuckle.  
"Oh, come on! I won't make fun, I promise," he insists. Elena cocks a 'really?' eyebrow at him.  
"Really? Okay," she draws daringly. "I dreamt that I was making out with Stefan, and then he turned into **Damon**!" she exclaims. Emily's eyes widen. Jeremy immediately snorts. Elena glares at him. He stops.  
"Sorry," he tells.

Emily turns to her sister, quickly disregarding the pinch of jealously she felt in her heart, considering how uncomfortable her sister seemed, which was kind of funny.

"It was just a dream, Elena. It's not like you cheated on Stefan," Emily glares amusingly.  
"Still…It was gross," Elena scrunches her face in disgust.

In truth, Damon had paid them a visit the night before. Nothing to stop him now that he'd been invited in. He was hoping that wherever Emily was keeping her Vervain would be somewhere obvious, but he should have known better.

Still, he wouldn't leave with nothing, so he decided to screw with Stefan further by paying Elena a visit in her dreams.

He was pleased to find that he **could**. So? It was just Emily with the Vervain…

Good.

But

it **wasn't**,

Elena had simply taken her Vervain bracelet off before bed. He didn't know that.

Jeremy then gets up. "Alright. I'm out," he states. Emily quickly rushes over to hug him, catching him off guard.  
"Byeee," she muses. He chuckles at her, rolling his eyes. Elena smiles happily at them. That certainly made her day.

Jeremy then leaves, in a much better mood, and Emily pulls back. She walks past Elena with his empty plate to the sink, and ruffles her sister's hair, spreading about the humor.

XXX

The remnant of the day was not too bad.

Stefan had spent the night before, also in wander of the Vervain issue with Emily. He wasn't sure if Elena had any as well. He was worried she didn't, and needed to make sure she did. So, thinking this way and that, he'd decided to give her Katherine's old Vervain necklace, obviously without telling her who it belonged to.

That morning, at school, he tried to be as subtle as possible so as not to seem suspicious as he gifted it to her.

Then there was the football match. That was when things got severely dark.

Mind you, it was a good match, but before the match, Jeremy and Tyler had gotten into a really bad fight.

Stefan tried stopping it, and succeeded, but he'd cut his hand in the process,

and it healed.

Elena saw it bleed. Then, when she went to check on him, the bleeding was gone.

He told her it wasn't even his blood to begin with,

but she could've sworn it was.

Then there was what happened **during **the match. Damon…attempted to **kiss **Elena! He told her that he knew she wanted him, that he'd bet she'd dreamt about him. Then he leaned in, compelled her wants…and she smacked him across the face.

It didn't work.

It was then that he noted the necklace she was wearing. He'd have thought it was Emily's had he not known exactly who it belonged to.

And finally, after the match had ended, Damon teased Stefan about it, stating that, since he couldn't compel Elena, he would just charm her his own way, or simply

**eat **her.

Stefan retaliated by insisting slyly that Damon wouldn't hurt her, because he felt for her, and Stefan saw it. He stated that he wouldn't kill him either, because, deep down, he was still human.

In a manner of spite at being told who he was, Damon was determined to prove otherwise, and he did so,

by killing professor Tanner.

XXXXX


	4. Chapter 4

A persistent banging on the door to the Salvatore Manor grasps Damon's attention. He stomps down the stairs in extreme irritation. "Alright!" he shouts to get whoever it was to shut the hell up!

Who in the world was it anyways?! He hadn't even had his morning meal yet!

Damon opens the door to find a wrathful Emily at the other side. "Oh. Emily," he utters in confusion.  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she asks harshly. He furrows his eyebrows at her. It was too early in the morning for this shit.

Elena had told her about what he'd done the night before, with the attempt to kiss her!

It had been a hellish night and morning all together. First her brother getting beat up, then the death of Tanner on the news, like, the fourth death that goddamn week!

And then Damon.

She was infuriated.

"I'm short-tempered," he replies strictly. Emily cocks an irritated eyebrow, crossing her arms. "May I ask why you came all the way out here to yell?! This early!" he tells tiredly. What was it like, nine am? If it wasn't for the fact that she's the reason he'd managed to get into their house last night, he'd have eaten her already.

Emily momentarily studies him, and how he dared be rude after what he did! Then, she realized, that it seemed he'd, by some miracle, forgotten!

"Are you serious right now?!" she asks. Damon rolls his eyes. One more push, and she can forget about the house incident. Bye-bye Emily! "After what you did last night, you have the courage to ask what I'm doing here?!" she shouts. Her tone would have extremely angered Damon, had it not been for what it was she was saying. Damon's mind attempts to process what she meant by that. What did he do last night? He killed professor Tanner. Was that what she was talking about?! No. No. What else could it be then?…Ohhhhh.

A look of realization falls upon his face. "Okay," he starts, tone calmer. '_Yeah_!' her mind exclaims in mock. "Get inside," he said casually as his mind was hard at work, looking for a solution.

Emily's instincts kick in at his offer. "Uh, no," she states, furrowing her eyebrows at his assumption that she would. Damon glares at her furiously.  
"Get inside, Emily," he tells tiredly. At first, her heart jumps in slight fear, slight, then she remembers who she is, what she's capable of. Her face grows plain, and she takes a step towards him, posture firm and gaze intent. He eyes her curiously as she speaks.  
"Or…what?" she asks.

…

…

Damon smirks.

It sent chills up her spine. Why was he smirking? Why was he looking at her like that? Why were his eyes so blue and pretty? _'Seriously, Emily?!'_ her mind yells.

Damon thinks for a moment. Kill her? And miss out on all this fun? Nah.

She doesn't wanna come in. No problem.

Damon takes a step forward, then another. Emily stumbles back warily. He turns and closes the door behind him, then faces her once more with a seemingly amused expression.

Stefan was currently at school with Elena, and Zach, his nephew, that everyone thinks is their uncle, wasn't currently at home.

It was just the two of them.

"So, clearly, you're mad," he starts casually, putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a t-shirt with sleeves that stopped on his mid-upper arm, which left her quite the view to his bulging biceps, making it slightly hard to concentrate. "And, I'm gonna take a wild guess, and say it's because I tried to kiss your sister last night," he resumes. Emily's mind clicks with clear focus of why she was here. She scowls, smirking coldly.  
"Nooo. **Really**?! Could it **be**?!" she asked sarcastically, causing him to chuckle in amusement. His eyes then locked with hers, and slowly, he began to approach her. She blank-faced again, but stood her ground determinedly.

Damon's eyes wandered about her hungrily, and lingered on her exposed neck. He could hear her beating heart, the flow of the blood, could smell it, could almost taste it.

He hears when her heart rate increases, and looks to see the blush creep up her cheeks. He was making her nervous. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

"Be honest," he starts. It is difficult for her to listen when he is this close, looking at her the way he was, and speaking in that husky, unfamiliar tone. "You're jealous," he says with certainty. Emily's eyes go wide, first in shock, then with fear of sudden exposure.

'_No. No. Compose yourself!_' her mind shouts. Once she manages minor control, she notes the look on his face, an expectant one. Expecting her to give in. Like hell! No. She wouldn't play this game. She decides to twist the topic.

"Why did you do it, Damon?" she asks instead. His features falter with momentary irritation. Oh, she was good. Avoiding his trap. Let's flip the table.  
"Maybe I did it to make you jealous. Maybe I like you," he says haughtily. Though momentarily fazed by that, Emily doesn't fall for it this time. He was good. But so was she. Emily scours for the truth hidden in his line of words. Damon brings up a hand to caress her cheeks for effect, but she grabs it before he can. Had she not been focused on studying him, that hand would be painfully twisted behind his back in threat. Not like it actually would have hurt him.

Damon's eyes dart to her hand holding his somewhat firmly, then to her as she spoke. "No. The truth, Damon. You were trying to get back at Stefan," she states unquestionably. Damon's heart clenches at this in exposure and annoyance. He exhales tiredly. Damon pulled her hand to him, as if studying it as he scoured for his next reply. Emily found it hard to breathe as he ran his thumb over her knuckles softly, a look of extreme concentration on his face that marked question marks in her thoughts.

Damon's eyes then light up with an answer. He quickly wears a mask of discomfort as he locked eyes with hers, then eyed around as he spoke, keeping hold of her hand as he did. "You're right," he starts. Emily's eyes widen at that, as he somewhat seemed sincere. He then catches her gaze. "My…therapist…says I'm acting out…trying to punish Stefan," he says heavily. It hurt him that part of those words were true, but to himself, he'd never admit that. It was because that partial truth showed in his eyes that Emily believed him. Her hold on his hand tightens slightly, as if, subconsciously, she felt the need to comfort him, if only momentarily. He felt it, and would have pulled his hand away, but his mind told him to keep it, for she seemed to be coming along.  
"For what?" she asked, needing more info to be able to give valid advice. Damon looks away again.  
"It's all in the past. I don't wanna bring it up," he says dismissively, gesturing with her hand still in his, knowing that his reply made it obvious enough. After all, using Katherine, he was still trying to mess things up between Stefan and Elena, directly or indirectly. At the moment, it was the latter. A look of realization befalls Emily. Slowly, she nods.  
"Katherine," she utters knowingly. Damon turns to her, as if in slight shock. He doesn't say anything, but he's affirmed it for her.

Emily purses her lips, thinking. What should she say? Why was she here again? Right. He tried to kiss Elena. What the hell happened with Katherine?! It certainly sounded complicated, for it to affect a man like Damon, and to silence and anger Stefan as it did.

This was bigger than her and Elena. But her and Elena! They can't be put in the middle of this!

Still. Emily wasn't insensitive.

"Look, Damon," she starts, taking another step towards him. She held his hand between both hers then, causing him to eye her warily as he seemed unable to predict what she would say. Then she makes eye-contact. It was difficult not to sometimes wander in the beauty of her eyes, Damon unwillingly thought, but then again, she thought the same of his. "I may not know much, but it's clear enough that, this thing with Katherine, was very complicated. And…losing her, affected you both, more than either of you would like to admit," she smiled sympathetically. Damon smiled back just for the sake of playing along. Her words affected him more than he'd liked, especially with her hands holding his. She then shakes her head. "But what you did last night," she tells in a firm voice. Damon instantly nods. If he was to stick around, which was his plan all along, he'd have to get the big Gilbert on his side.

"I know. I know. And I'm sorry," he says, making it sound as sincere as possible. Damon was not the type to apologize, but since it was a lie, with an ulterior motive, it was easy. Something told him she was the type to appreciate an apology. He was right. Her face immediately lit up. Damon smirked. "So. We're cool?" he asked, getting his free, ringed hand to join their hand-holding-party-of-ulterior-motives. Emily looks at their hands, and smiles slightly. She turned to him once more.  
"Will you apologize to Elena?" she asked.  
"I was planning to," he told firmly.  
"Then, yeah. We're cool," she smiled.  
"Good," Damon nodded. "So," he starts, entering step two. "The Founders' party is tomorrow," he states. She eyes him suspiciously.  
"Yeah," she says weirdly.  
"Are you going?" Emily thinks. She was planning on it, but she got the feeling she knew what he was hinting at, and honestly, Damon was hot and a hell of a catch, but he was also the guy that kissed her sister to get back at his brother for their ex.  
"Yes," she heavily replied. She was going. If she said no, and he went and found her, that wouldn't be pretty.  
"Good, cause I was thinking-"  
"Damon…" Emily cut off, gently pulling her hands out of his grasp and taking a step back. He eyed her in confusion as she spoke. "I don't think it's a good idea," she said awkwardly, massaging the back of her neck from tension with her hand.  
"Do you have a date?" he asks, attempting to comprehend her refusal.  
"Uhh," she hesitates to answer. She didn't, and Damon understood that she was trying not to offend him. There was only one other explanation.  
"It's because of the Elena thing, right?" Emily gives him a pained look. That's a yes.  
"Oh, come on!" he smiles, approaching her once more. "I said I was sorry," he pouts.  
"Damon-" Emily tries.  
"Besides, you can't go alone!" he proclaims.  
"Uh, why not?" she asked in humor, but mainly curiosity, crossing her arms.  
"Because," Damon starts,

then gives her the sexy look.

"You're too pretty," he says, using that tone again. Her eyes widen momentarily, his attempt to seduce her working just a bit, till she laughed it off defensively.

Oh, he was good.

He can see, she was coming along. She just needed a little more pushing. Some perceptive. "Look, we'll go together. I'll clear things up with Elena. And we can all have a good time. I'm one hell of a dancer," he smirks. Emily rolled her eyes at him in amusement.

It did sound appealing, and it would beat people constantly asking why she came alone, or where her date was, or how she was too pretty to be single. And she liked the sound of him clearing things up with Elena.

Besides…he was really hot. '_Damn it, Emily!_'

There was one other issue though.

"Do you promise to behave around Stefan?" she asks.  
"Cross my heart," he smirks, eyeing her intently. She takes another moment to consider it. He could hear her agreement coming from a mile away.  
"…Okay," she tells. Damon's smile widens. "I'll meet you there," she last says, before walking off and towards her car.

Damon watched her leave, a victory smile plastered on his face.

XXX

Emily did not get the chance to tell Elena about what had happened with Damon that day. She was, however, asked by Jenna if she was planning on bringing a date to the Founders' party. Emily told her she'd be bringing Damon, Stefan's brother. She also requested she not tell Elena until she does so herself, and briefly explained that it was because Elena didn't get along with Damon cause he didn't get along with Stefan due to a complicated past relationship. She didn't give much more detail.

The next day, the sisters were readying for the party, and Emily decided to bring up the topic then.

"So, I talked to Damon," Emily says while applying eyeliner next to Elena in front of the bathroom mirror. Elena stops straightening her hair to stare at her sibling in shock.  
"What?!"  
"Yeah," Emily winces.  
"Em! I didn't tell you to go yell at him!" Elena exclaims.  
"I had to!" Emily states patriotically. Elena scoffs, slapping the lacer around a lock of her hair.  
"And what exactly did he say?" Elena asks in curiosity mixed with anger.  
"Well…Elena, I want you to ask Stefan about Katherine," Emily says seriously, placing down the eyeliner and turning fully to her sister. Elena pauses her action.  
"Why?" she asks in concern and confusion.  
"Well," Emily starts, pushing her hair behind her ear and crossing her arms. "If the situation drove a guy like Damon to a therapist," Elena's eyes widen at that, "and to kissing you, then I'd say it's definitely worth worrying about," Emily states firmly.  
"Wh…What exactly did Damon tell you?" Elena pushes.

Emily explains what had happened to Elena in detail, leaving out some minors, like their hand-holding. As Damon had hoped, doubt has been planted into Elena's heart. Now, she was insistent to find out, what had happened with Katherine, from Stefan.

"Then…he…" Emily continued, pausing hesitantly. Elena notes the blush creeping up her sister's pale cheeks.  
"What?" Elena pushes suspiciously. Emily clears her throat, regaining some confidence.  
"He asked me to the party," she tells, distracting herself by resuming her make-up. Elena's eyes widen once more.  
"Today's party? The Founders' party?"  
"Mhmm."  
"You said 'no', right?" Elena asks. Emily stays silent. Elena eyes her in shock. "Emily!"  
"No! I didn't," Emily replies tiredly.  
"What did you say, then?!" Elena asks angrily.  
"…I said…Okay," Emily shrugs like it was no big deal.  
"Wha! After he tried kiss me?!" Elena exclaims.  
"Hey, he said he was sorry! And he's going to apologize!" Emily defends. Elena takes a moment to believe what she was hearing. A look of realization then falls upon her.  
"Oh my god," she utters, a smile creeping up her lips. Emily turns to her warily. "You like him…" she says knowingly.  
"No," Emily immediately replies.  
"You so do!" Elena says confidently, noting how worked up Emily was getting.  
"No. I don't," Emily insists seriously, turning to Elena once more.  
"Then why did you say yes?" Elena asks knowingly.  
"Because!..." Emily thought for a reason, or an excuse. Her eyes light up. "He makes a very hot date," she says obviously. Elena scoffs at that in denial, then stops, the image of Mr. sexy popping in her head. She shakes it away uncomfortably.  
"Wh-since when do you care about showing up with a hot date?" she asks instead.  
"Look," Emily says tiredly. "He's funny, and he said he knew how dance. He also said he'd apologize to you, and if you're sticking around with Stefan, I'd like to see that happening," Emily lists reasons. Elena is still not fully convinced, now more distracted by the 'if you stick around with Stefan' part.

The phone rings, grasping both Gilberts' attention. Elena storms out irritably to answer it. Emily resumes her make-up. Elena was audible to her with the bathroom door open.

"Hello…Hi, Mrs. Lockwood…What'd you mean? It is?" Elena talks through. Emily stops, furrowing her eyebrows curiously. "Are you sure? Cause, I saw it." Emily comes to stand by the threshold, eyeing her sibling intently. She sees Elena smile bitterly. "Let me check. Mhm. I will find it and bring it…Okay. Bye," Elena last says, rising and closing the line. Emily eyes her in confusion as she storms to Jeremy's bedroom, and she follows.

Elena barges in and slaps the headphones off his head, he was playing video games on his desk. "Ahh! God, what now?!" Jeremy asks irritably, Emily about to ask as well.  
"The pocket watch. Where is it?" Elena demands. Emily notes her sister was speaking about one of their family heirlooms, seeing as how each founding family was to send them to be on display at the party that day.  
"What watch?!"  
"The one you stole from mom's box! Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy. And she can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it."  
"Well, maybe she did. Maybe, uh, maybe Tyler took it."  
"Okay. Hey. Let's all just, take a breath," Emily says firmly, walking in after assessing the situation.  
"Am I gonna find it on e-bay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Elena pushes in mock. Jeremy glares daggers at her.  
"Elena…" Emily warns. Elena reluctantly shuts up. Emily softly turns to her brother. "Jeremy. Truth. Did you take the watch?" she asks calmly, crossing her arms expectantly. It takes him a minute, then he sighs tiredly, rising from his seat and sending Elena a dirty look.

Jeremy kneels down near one of his boots, shoving his hand into it. The sisters cringe in slight disgust. He pulls something out, and rises. He glares at Elena once more, before turning to Emily and speaking sincerely. "I would never sell this, okay?" he gestures with the small, golden pocket-watch.  
"Then why did you take it?" Elena asks.  
"Because it's supposed to be mine," he says irritably. He turns to Emily once more. "Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" He takes Emily's hand and gently slaps the watch into it, going back to his seat.  
"And he was gonna give it to you…" Elena says sadly. Jeremy stays his silence. Elena sighs tensely, turning to Emily who was eyeing and caressing the watch, deep in thought. She then shakes her head. Elena eyes her warily.

She approaches Jeremy, who turns to her curiously as she takes his hand from the controller, placing the watch in it and closing his hand around. Both siblings widen their eyes at her. She locks eyes with Jeremy, then smirks, winking at him. Jeremy's face lights up, and he smiles brightly at her.

"But," Elena tries, hating to be the one to potentially ruin this. "Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood." Emily turns to her, slightly affected by that. Her parents were gone, but her siblings weren't. The living needed reasons to stay alive, to feel alive.  
"We didn't," she states obviously. Elena eyes her in confusion. "We'll just tell her we couldn't find it, that it's probably still in one of the boxes. She can manage without the watch. Come on." Emily says, gently pushing Elena out.

The girls re-enter the bathroom. Emily continues what she was doing. Elena does the same distractedly, constantly glancing Emily's way. Then she sighs.

"I don't…mean to be hard on him," she says guiltily.  
"I know," Emily tells her seriously. "It's hard for you too, honey," Emily states. Elena smiles at her sister.  
"How are you so…"  
"Patience," Emily smirks. "and love. You'll get it someday," she assures sincerely. Elena's smile falters slightly. Easier said than done.  
"I hope so."

XXXXX


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Emily hears. She turns to see Damon by her side. Her eyes widen in sudden admiration. Him, in a suit; it was too much. Then he smirked at her, eyeing her with those glowing, moon-orbs that he so carefully utilized to get her heart beating faster.

It was around five pm. Emily had driven with Elena to the Lockwood mansion. People were gathered outside, finding their dates and chattering happily. A line was formed in front of the entrance where people were greeted in by the hosts.

Elena had wandered off with Stefan. Emily tensely awaited outside, nearly forgetting that Damon was to accompany her as her discomfort was gained by the amount of present people, soon all forgotten when he arrived.

Damon eyed her from head to toe admirably. She was in a short, lace, black dress, fanning around her knees, arc-shaped near her chest, and pedal-like on her shoulders. Her, shoulder length, dark-brown, silk-like hair was set free, held back only by a few strands. A transparent, black shawl delicately and lazily wrapped around her bare arms.

Had Damon's heart not been busy with another, she would have had it beating for her as he had hers for him.

Realizing she'd been staring, Emily nervously looks away. "Thanks," she utters shyly. Damon smirks. A witty comeback jumps in Emily's head, and she smirks too as she speaks. "You almost look like a gentleman in that suit." Damon chuckles in amusement.

"I can act like one, too," he retorts, lending her his arm. She takes it graciously, and the two make their way through the crowd and up the stairs.

At the threshold, Mrs. Lockwood is taken aback by Emily's attractive date. Damon smirks knowingly. Nevertheless, they are invited in.

As they knit their way through, Damon notes the rate of Emily's heartbeat, rapid and imprecise. Her tense face and posture made her discomfort fairly clear, even though she tried her best to keep a smile on.

Her smile slightly falters when Jenna approaches them, smiling knowingly. "Emily," she draws mischievously, glancing intently at Damon, as if praising her choice and signaling 'damn!'.

"Jenna," Emily reluctantly retorts. "This is Damon," she introduces. He puts out his hand, and Jenna shakes it casually, though he could clearly see the effect he had on her.

"Pleasure," he greets.

"A-as well," Jenna stumbles for words. Emily bites her lip in amusement at Jenna's flushed face. Noting she couldn't seem to keep her cool, Jenna excuses herself to avoid further embarrassment. "Well, I best…get back to it," she chuckles weirdly.

"Right," Emily nods, then pulls Damon away to find wider space, where they could take a corner.

Damon stops her midway and grabs two drinks off a moving tray. He heads to hand Emily one. "Thank you," she starts, smiling at it.

"Ah," Damon pulls it back. She eyes him questionably. "Aren't you under-age?" he asks slyly. She then cocks a mischievous eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip.

"Didn't you try to kiss my sister?" she retorts. Damon pauses, then grins, handing it to her.

"Fair enough," he says. She smiles happily, accepting her drink.

The two soon stop out by the lavish verandah. Each lean on the stone ledge casually. Emily eyes about warily, her tension clear as crystal and infectious. Damon can't help but comment this time. "You look as uncomfortable as a wet cat." She turns to him, mind taking a moment to process what he'd said. She laughs out as he smirks in amusement. "My god, Gilbert. If you're this uncomfortable attending the party, why did you?" he asked curiously.

"Because I had to. Oldest of the founding family and what not," she tells. Damon shrugs, eyeing the horizon.

"Screw tradition. Do what you want," he tells.

"If by 'do what I want', you mean: never leave the house, eat two boxes of ice-cream each day, and stay on the couch till I finish all seasons of Supernatural, then I don't think it's such a good idea," she said half-jokingly. Damon smirked, but it was quickly discarded as he recalled the source of her so dull wants. It never occurred to him she'd be fighting some form of depression.

Emily turns to him once more, inhaling a breath of confidence. "It's not about tradition, it's about what's good for me, what's good for my siblings," she states.

"What does this have to do with them?" he asks curiously.

"Well, I like to believe that, when they see me moving…**on**, they'd start believing it's possible," she explains heavily. Damon takes a moment to process her words.

"Do you believe it is?" he retorts seriously. She is slightly taken aback by his question.

"…I have to…" she tells uncertainly. Damon looks away once more, a distant look in his eyes. Emily studies him curiously.

She could see it in him too, that fog that clouded hope. It loomed over her, and she could see it on him as well.

Emily places a firm hand on his forearm, and he turns to her in slight confusion. "**We**…have to," she repeats. His heart clenches at that, appreciating her words, and disliking them all at once. A part of him felt gracious for being talked to the way she spoke to him, the other felt closed, persistent. He had a goal. He would not move on, till he saw it through. She sees the discomfort in his gaze at her hand, and she takes it away, slightly offended as she wondered why he seemed so opposed to her encouragement. It was not the first time she'd noticed.

Elizabeth Forbes then catches Emily's sight. She speaks with a tone of suspicion. "Sheriff's here." Damon turns to look as well. A blonde with pixie-short hair, and a sheriff's uniform, walked about, badge and gun and all. "What do you think about all the animal attacks that have been going on?" Emily asks casually. Damon turns to her warily.

"What do you mean?" he asks, hoping to figure out what conspiracies arose in the vervained Gilbert's mind.

"I don't know," she shakes her head.

"What do you think it is?" he pushes. Emily then turns to him.

"It's just. The whole drained of blood thing is kind of…weird, don't you think?" she offers casually, leaning over the rail again. Damon mimics her posture.

"Like…vampires?" he grins dismissively, though he was hoping to see her reaction to that…and she did not disappoint. Emily eyes him in momentary shock, then she laughs out.

"Right," she nods in dismiss, but he saw it, he heard it.

She knew.

Undoubtable now…

That could be a problem.

The question then was…how **much** does she know? And how can Damon find out, without triggering her suspicions.

"Wanna, go check out the, uh, heirlooms and stuff?" Emily tells, smiling in amusement. Damon cocks an eyebrow at her.

"Sure you're ready to get back out there?" he teases. She chuckles in slight embarrassment, slightly dis-appreciating how well he could read her.

"Yes," she assures. "Besides, you have some apologizing to do," she tells. Damon nods in dismiss, as if he'd forgotten and just remembered. "**And**, you owe me a dance," she finishes.

"Well, we can be certain **one** of those things will be fun," he smirks. She glares playfully at him, taking his arm as they began to roam the house.

They small talk about the families that have their heirlooms on display. Emily gives Damon some of her personal insight on them, which impresses Damon as it seemed the older Gilbert was good at reading people. She would state some of their traits, then explain the reasons behind the presence of said traits. Seeing as how closed and quite the Gilbert was, it was to no surprise that she liked to observe and assess, which Damon found as a very advantageous trait in itself.

A while later, they come across Stefan and Elena, looking around as well.

They find Elena reading through the original guest registry on display. She reads through some names, then stops by Damon Salvatore, and Stefan Salvatore. Emily's eyes widen just before Damon shoots a convenient explanation. "The **original** Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors," he says. Stefan turns to him reluctantly in relief. He eyes Emily hesitantly. Damon had told him she was his date, which, as Damon expected, irritated and worried Stefan. "Tragic story, actually," Damon continues. Stefan immediately steps in.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," he says. Emily is irritated by the intrusion.

"It's not boring, Stefan," Elena says politely.

"Yeah, we'd love to hear more about your family," Emily says semi-suspiciously. Elena nods enthusiastically. The Salvatores turn to Emily warily. Now they both had to talk, and make it believable. Stefan unintentionally eyes Damon, who, as hoped, starts spinning the web around a semi-made up story.

"Well, let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry," Damon says pointedly. The Gilberts grow uncomfortable, but still interested, and Stefan immediately regrets thinking Damon could handle this. He looks to the floor tensely, telling himself

it would be over tonight.

Damon went on. "And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers. The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town, until the war. There was a battle here."

"The battle of Willow Creek," Elena says knowingly from school. Emily smiles at her in amusement, and Damon smiles in praise.

"Right."

"I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside," she recites glancing at Stefan, her classmate.

"What the history books left out was that…was that the people that were killed, weren't there by accident," Damon says, walking backwards towards a replica of the church put on a table. Emily listens to Damon's words carefully, getting a strange, small feeling about the fact that he seemed to know more than the books did. Accordingly, so did Stefan, the history geek. What, they 'coincidently' **both** were? "They were believed to be union sympathizers, so, some of the founders on the confederacy-side back then wanted them rounded up…" he makes intent eye-contact with Stefan, "and burned alive." The girls seem both sad and intrigued to hear this new information. Damon then seemed lost in daze as he spoke his next words. "Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church…" he looks to the church model again, avoiding Stefan's heated glare, who was unknowingly being studied by Elena. "And when they went to rescue them, they were…shot. Murdered in cold blood," continued Damon.

"…How do you know so much about what happened then?" Emily is unable to keep the question to herself anymore. Damon's eyes snap to meet hers, and Elena listens in too. Stefan slightly panics.

"Family journals," Damon slyly answers.

It was a very simple, acceptable answer, that Emily wondered how she hadn't thought of it already.

With his eyes still on the suspicious Gilbert, Damon was reminded of something that was certain to keep her from asking more questions. "Stefan. Mind if I borrow Elena?" he asks. Stefan squints his eyes at him in concern. Damon regardless puts a hand out to Elena, glancing at Emily.

"Go on," Emily says, gently pushing her uncomfortable sister towards him, as she was aware what he was going to do.

"Uh, okay," Elena awkwardly accepts, aware now too, especially after her sister's intervention. Stefan is left in the dark as the two walk away. Damon winks at Emily as he leaves. She smirks at him, and Stefan turns to her in confusion. She faces him after their gone.

"He's just apologizing," she explains.

"For what?" Stefan asks. Emily's eyes widen. _'Shit,'_ she thinks.

"Uhhh, because of the-Because he thinks she's upset…with how you two…don't get along," she makes up, certain he wasn't convinced, but there was no way she would be the one to tell him. It either had to come from Elena, or Damon himself.

"Right," Stefan utters, indeed unconvinced.

"Do you wanna get a drink?" she offers, wanting to fan the tension. He smiles politely, playing along, though still wanting to know the truth. He'd have to ask Damon,

after taking him in.

"Sure," he replies.

"Okay," she says, heading to get some.

"No. It's fine. I'll get them," he offers. Emily hesitates. She didn't like to be left alone in a public place.

"Oh, I'll come with you," she smiles, and the two walk together out the small room.

They grab drinks off a tray, and Emily almost bumps into Caroline Forbes, the Sheriff's daughter, and Elena's not-totally-friend. "Oh. Caroline. Sorry."

"It's fine," Caroline smiles in dismiss, then catches sight of Stefan, and her smile widens. "Hi, Stefan."

"Hi," Stefan smiles back forcibly. Seemed, despite telling her that they would never be 'a thing', she insisted to try regardless.

Emily notices then

something

dreary.

"Caroline," she quietly utters, her hand slowly reaching to touch the girl's chest side, near her shoulder and collarbone, and barely hidden by her lace bolero. Had it not been

bite marks,

Emily would have probably asked Caroline to the bathroom, in a manner of concern,

but…

they were…

undoubtedly

bite marks.

…

…

It was just like how it was the year before,

with the girl from her class,

the girl with bite marks,

the girl found dead…

Stefan sees it too, and his eyes widen in realization.

Damon was using Caroline as a blood-bag!

Caroline looks down to see where Emily's wary hand was going, sees, and frowns, pulling away,

"That's nothing," she says with a dismissive smile.

"I'm gonna go get you a drink," Stefan says, stepping away. Emily does not have the mind-capacity to wonder where he was going, or why he was leaving all of a sudden, for her thoughts were but memories stuck in a creepy past of speculation, and supernatural beliefs.

Emily steps closely to Caroline, people passing them by here and there. "Caroline. How did you get that bite?" she firmly asks.

"I…got it from a guy I slept with," she almost automatically replies. "He likes to play rough."

Same excuse as the last girl.

Then, as if snapped out of it, she says: "Why do you care?" in an irritated tone. Emily does not get the chance to reply when Stefan returns with another glass in hand, and offers it to Caroline, who immediately smiles with his presence.

He offers her the **vervained drink.**

Yes, vervained.

It was his plan all along, to vervain Damon that night somehow (no he didn't try to fool him earlier that day, because he wasn't planning on vervaining his 'human blood-bag', because he didn't even know about Caroline until now, as he was too busy wondering what Damon was doing to Emily). His drink, most likely, or if he had to discreetly inject him,

but now,

he played no risk of exposure, he would follow Caroline around until Damon feeds from her,

and when it was in his system, and he is weakened,

Stefan would strike.

XXX

A few minutes later, Elena approaches the duo, Damon nowhere to be found. She offers Stefan a dance, and he takes it.

Emily wanders about in search of Damon, and is approached by Mrs. Lockwood, Carol, who asks her about the pocket-watch. Emily tells her they are yoet to find it, and feigns sincerity.

"There you are," she hears Damon a few minutes later, and turns to face him.

"Where'd you go?" she asks.

"I was looking for **you**," he lies. He stops two feet from her. They are near the outdoor, set-up dance area and open-bar. He glances at it, and she in turn does the same. He then faces her once more. "How about that dance I owe you?" he offers. Emily smiles at him.

"Lets."

Damon leads her to the dance floor, takes her hand in his, and puts his other on her waist. She finds she is unable to stop smiling, or blushing, or keep her heart from racing, and Damon is fairly amused with the effect he had on her as they swayed to the music from side to the other. "You're cute when you blush," he says, causing her to sheepishly grin and face down.

"And you weren't kidding when you said you could dance," she retorts. Damon smirks.

"Oh, this is nothing. You should see me really get it on," he says. She chuckles lightly, then unintentionally bit her lip. Damon thinks she looks incredibly delicious, and resists the thoughts of taking her aside and tasting her.

Her eyes then fall on Caroline, stood aside, chatting with someone with her habitual smile.

She deeply frowns and stares intensely, causing Damon, who also hears her heart jump, to turn to look at what had so drastically caught her attention. He spots first Caroline; the person he'd occasionally been feeding from since discovering her despise towards Elena for winning over Stefan two days ago.

Damon worries that is indeed who Emily was looking at.

Why was this girl picking up on every little thing?! It was incredibly annoying, and it was making his attempts to keep her docile more of a constant struggle.

"What's wrong?" he asks, snapping her out of it. She locks onto his eyes, then away once more.

"Nothing," she shakes her head in dismiss.

"No. Definitely something. Come on. Tell me," he encourages, trying to catch her gaze. It works.

His mesmerizing eyes were so hard to refuse, especially when he was looking at her puppy-like. She inhales from tension.

"I…" then she stops.

She found what?

Bite marks on her friend?

So?

Rough-play, he would definitely assume.

And there was no way she making herself look stupid in front of him, or anyone, by telling him she actually believed in vampires.

She smiles and shakes her head again.

"It's nothing, really. I just…" she looks to the side warily, too consumed with the frightful memories of the other girl, "need to use the bathroom," she concludes.

Damon doesn't believe her.

Regardless, he nods as she pulls away. "Don't keep me waiting," he plasters on a smirk.

"I won't," she smiles back, and walks off.

Damon's smile falls, and is replaced with a frustrated frown,

as he turns to Caroline.

XXXXX


	6. Chapter 6

"What happened Elena?" Emily asks in the car, quite freaked out.

"I don't know! I found her like this, outside," Elena replies from behind, next to an in-tears Caroline.

Having had enough with her own conspiracies, Emily parks the car that was headed to Caroline's on the side of the road, and turns to face the two. Elena had a comforting arm over Caroline's shoulder. The girl was as if in a state of shock, practically shaking and covered in Emily's black shawl.

"Okay, Caroline. I know you're scared, and confused, but, I need you to think very, **very** carefully. What is the **last** thing you remember?" she asks in a fairly serious tone that masked her own state of panic.

"…I…I…don't…" her eyes then slightly widen.

"…Damon…" she utters.

"…What?" Emily asks with furrowed brows.

"I…remember him…kissing my neck," Caroline continues.

Emily's eyes widen, so do Elena's.

"Or…**biting** my neck," she utters weirdly, then her face scrunches and she sniffs back more tears. "And then I just...I just can't remember! I think I, passed out?" she says, completely confused.

_'Oh my god.'_

_'Oh my god!'_

Emily's heart madly races.

_'No. No it can't be. It can't be him. It…_

_ …'_ she thinks.

"Wha-What do you mean? He was…Was he hurting you?" Elena tries.

"I…I don't know…" Caroline confesses tiredly.

There was no blood on her. No sign of a new bite or anything,

that was because, after Damon had attempted to kill her for getting Emily suspicious, was then vervained, and kidnapped by Stefan, Stefan healed her wounds with his own blood.

But they didn't completely heal, for his abilities were weak due to his animal-feeding, so some scars were still there.

"Stefan was right…" utters Elena.

"About what?" Emily pushes. Elena locks eyes with hers. She stays silent, and inhales deeply.

"Let's just get Caroline home first," she turns to her blonde, scared friend. "Okay?" she smiles. Caroline nods, looking to her hands as she attempted to keep calm.

Emily faced the wheel again and re-started the car.

_'…Oh my god…'_

XXX

Three days had passed, and neither of the Salvatore brothers were heard from after Stefan had sent Elena a message, stating that there was something he need to do.

Elena had told Emily about what had happened with her and Stefan during the party. How she tried to ask him about Katherine, like Emily told her she should, and ended up with close-to-no answer as he continued to blame Damon for turning them against one another.

Then, just like Damon, he disappeared, them leaving both Gilberts alone, and, apparently, a very distressed Caroline, who just wanted to forget the whole thing.

The first day was filled with mad panic on Emily's side. She went back to the gym and freshened up her kung-fu, she started gathering wood and fashioning a strong, wooden stake. She re-insisted that her siblings and Jenna not remove the 'accessories' she'd given them.

Everyone thought she was acting crazy, and never got a straight answer when they'd ask what in the world she was doing, especially with the wooden stake thing. She merely explained that whittling was relaxing.

She didn't dare try to call Damon, or even Stefan, though Elena continued to try with the latter, and to no avail.

Finally, on the fifth day, and after Emily had calmed down somewhat, Elena comes back from school and tells her that Stefan has returned.

"And he wants to meet at the Grill at four to explain what was going on," she says, sitting at the kitchen-counter and eating a grilled cheese sandwich with Emily.

"No way. Nuh uh," Emily shakes her head.

"What do you mean?" Elena asks weirdly.

"He can't be trusted, Elena. You can't trust anything he says, and you certainly can't be alone with him," Emily firmly says. Elena is further confused by this, then somewhat understands.

"…He's not like Damon, Em…He won't hurt me," Elena assures.

"We don't know that, Elena," Emily insists, even though what she was worried about was far more serious than what Elena thought.

"…Look, the least I could do is hear him out," Elena pushes.

"Then I'll come with you," Emily decides. Elena grins in mock.

"What?"

"Yeah. I'll drive you, and, uhhh, get a drink at the bar or something," she says.

"…Is this about Damon?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That you liked him, and then you find out he's crazy, and want an explanation from Stefan?" Elena asks. Now it was Emily's turn to smile in mock.

"Right. Just tell me when you're ready to head out," she tells in irritated dismiss, taking her sandwich and exiting the kitchen.

She did not like Damon.

No way.

She barely knew Damon, and

he was a fucking vampire.

XXX

It had been a full hour before Stefan finally decided to show up. Matt, who was also at the Grill, was playing pool with Elena and talking to pass the time, while Emily stayed by the bar, and sat on her phone, looking up every few minutes to eye around for that godforsaken Salvatore.

He then did show up, and Emily suspiciously observed from afar, thankful the bar was populated.

Alone with a vampire.

Very bad.

She studied him with new perspective.

He didn't look like a vampire.

What was a vampire supposed to look like anyways?

Normal, she knew,

till he turned to feed.

But, still, she wondered if there was a more obvious sign.

They weren't supposed to be able to walk in the sun, so how were they doing it?

She was close to certain Damon was a vampire, somehow walking in the sun, but…

…maybe Stefan wasn't one.

Maybe it was just Damon.

That was not something to risk though.

If he really was a vampire, there was no way she was gonna let Elena anywhere near him.

A few minutes into their conversation, and Matt comes by Emily's side.

"So, what are you really doing here, Em?" he asks curiously. She sipped her coke and kept her gaze fixed on Stefan and her sister.

"Just…hanging out," she replies, not even looking at Matt.

"Yeah? Cause it looks like you're about ready to kick Stefan's ass…Did he do something to Elena, other than being secretive?" he asks.

"Uhhh, no," she replies, barely listening. Matt eyes her dismissive behavior irritably. Clearly, there was something more, and she wasn't saying.

A dark, elder male comes by Stefan and Elena, and they speak. Emily is unable to hear from that distance, but just afterwards, Elena and Stefan move to the exit. Emily slides off her stool and stops a few feet away from them as they spoke once more, before Elena stormed out in frustration.

Emily's brows furrow, and Stefan's posture falls in disappointment.

Emily inhales deeply and walks up to him.

"Stefan," she calls. He faces her.

"Emily. Hi," he greets with a tired smile. She doesn't find it in her to retort it.

"Hey…Where is he, Stefan? Where'd he go?" she asks.

Why did she care, she wondered.

Maybe she just wanted to know that he was gone for good, that he wasn't something she had to worry about anymore,

but was that the only reason?

"…He, uhhh, left town," Stefan replies.

"…Why?" she asks.

"I'm not sure…But I know he's not coming back. I'm sorry, Emily," he touches her upper arm in sympathy.

He may not have been aware of the exact nature of their relationship, even though he asked Damon if he'd found a way to compel her, and got no answer, but Emily seemed fairly upset.

He did not assume it was because she knew, because if that was the case, she'd have seemed more relieved.

Emily shakes her head in dismiss.

"It's fine," she says. "I'll see you around," she then takes her leave.

XXX

"So, he was like: 'there was this thing with my uncle', and then I was like: 'You couldn't call to tell me you'd be an hour late?!' then he was like, 'Uhhh, I'm sorry Elena!', and then I told him that he couldn't keep answering questions with…**non**-answers! and then that guy came up to us and said he knew Stefan, and that Stefan hadn't aged a day, like, what the hell does that even mean?!" Elena raves angrily beside Emily in the car.

Emily's heart jumps at the last statement.

_'Oh god. Was Stefan really one too?'_ her mind worriedly thought.

"And when I asked him, he dodged my question, like he dodges **all** of my fucking question, so I left! I mean, he's clearly not ready to be honest with me, and I won't have him lie to my face. No!" she continues.

"You're absolutely right," Emily determines, honestly just wanting Elena away from Stefan, the potential vampire.

XXX

"Hey, hey. Don't go downstairs," Jeremy says to Emily at their house later that night, up the stairs as he storms out of his room to block her. Jenna was out on a date with her ex, Logan Fell, something Emily thought extremely unwise, but of course, Jenna didn't listen, so, anyways, it was just the three siblings at home.

"Why not?" Emily cocks a suspicious brow at Jeremy.

"Stefan's down there," he smiles. Emily's eyes widen. She storms down the stairs. "Wha! Hey!" Jeremy calls. She ignores him as he rushes after her.

She parts the closed, glass sliding door open to the kitchen, to find Stefan cutting up vegetables on the counter, and Elena stood opposite him. "What's going on here?" she asks angrily.

"Emily. Stefan's just. Uhhh, we were just talking," Elena calmly explains.

Stefan sees the gaze in Emily's eyes.

A scared one,

then, a set one.

"No. I'm sorry. You need to leave," she decides, coming to stop a foot in front of Elena protectively.

"Em, come on," Jeremy calls.

"Stay out of this, Jer," she tells over her shoulder. Jeremy is taken aback with her strict tone, wondering why in the world she was suddenly acting like this.

"Emily!" Elena exclaims at her rudeness.

"It's fine," Stefan calls.

"No, it isn't!" Elena states, facing Emily once more. "We're just talking, Em!"

"About what?!" Emily insists.

"…About Katherine!" Elena angrily confesses.

He was finally opening up to her, and Emily was ruining it.

Emily fixes her gaze on Stefan again.

She wouldn't say what she was worried of,

but Stefan could see it.

She must know.

Why else would she be acting like this?

"Elena. Can I talk to Emily for a minute?" Stefan calmly requests. Emily continues to glare at him. Elena finds his request odd.

"I…Okay," she gives in as he eyes her assuringly, and leaves the room. Stefan continues to eye her until she closes the door on her and Jeremy outside.

Stefan turns his full attention to Emily.

For a full, tense minute, neither say a word.

Then, Stefan speaks.

"I'm not like him, Emily. I would never hurt Elena," he assures.

"…Like him how?" she pushes for confirmation.

"Dangerous. I'm not dangerous."

"…**What** are you, Stefan?" she demands.

She had to be sure.

But now. Stefan was.

He was certain she knew the truth.

Still, he wouldn't give in. Not yet. Better yet, not unless he **had** to.

"…What do you think I am, Emily?" he retorts.

Would she say it?

She didn't.

Why didn't she?

Because she wasn't sure, and she wouldn't have him take the advantage of treating her as the insane.

Emily leans closer to him from the opposite side of the counter. She speaks in a low, cold tone. "If she cries tonight because of you, you are never stepping foot in this house again. Do you understand?"

"…I understand," Stefan nods with a soft smile.

"Good," Emily says with no amusement.

"You know," Stefan crosses his arms, "Elena's really lucky to have you watching over her," he praises, quite sincerely. Emily does not reply.

She merely takes her leave.

XXX

When Stefan leaves, and Elena tells Emily, after scolding her for her overprotective behavior, everything Stefan had told her. About Katherine, how he loved her, how she was beautiful and fun, but selfish and impulsive, how Damon's intervention and his assumption that he had her first got in the way, how Stefan did things in turn he was not proud of, and how his biggest regret was that he couldn't fix things with Katherine before she died. Then that they talked casually the rest of the night, and how things went well.

Elena left out the part where she could've sworn she'd seen Stefan's face change in the window's reflection when she'd accidently cut her finger with the kitchen knife.

She didn't even have to mention it,

Emily was already setting a plan in motion…

The next day, she knew both Stefan and Elena would be at that school fundraiser, this car wash that Caroline, who was still in denial about the whole thing with Damon, had personally planned.

Emily took the chance,

and went to Stefan's house at around four pm.

What was she doing?

What in the world was she doing?

She needed proof.

She couldn't keep worrying about Elena every time she went off to school,

worried what might happen,

what **he** might do to her.

Her sister's life was not, in any way, something she was willing to risk.

Behind her belt, was a wooden stake she was very intent on using should she be surprise-attacked by Stefan.

She made way to the house, parked, got out, headed for the door, and decided on looking for a back-way in, rather than pick the front door's lock, something she learned off the internet, and practical practice on her own front door.

The house, the mansion, was incredibly large and lavish. Inside, as she entered from the back window into the living room, everything, every piece of furniture, was Victorian. There was a fireplace, a large piano, large, wooden arch-ways connecting the hallway to the stairs, the kitchen, and the dining room. The walls and floors were also a genuine, oak wood.

It was incredible,

but Emily wasn't here for sightseeing.

She roamed about the first floor, and came across the door to the basement.

Surely, if there was any sign of vampirism, like, blood-bags, or…something, it would be hidden in the eerie basement

She crept down quietly, warily, and stopped short at the stony cellar,

with what seemed like cells, actual, prison like cells with reinforced, metal doors.

She could hear someone breathe!

Slowly, she approaches one of the cells, the one where she thought the sound was coming from, and looks through its small, barred, square window.

"Emily!" hoarsely exclaimed a ghostly pale, sweaty Damon sitting on the dirt floor with his back to the brick wall.

Her eyes widen.

XXXXX


	7. Chapter 7

"Damon!" she quietly uttered in shock. Damon struggled to get to his feet.

"Emily. Thank god. Please," he hauled himself at the barred window and hocked his hands around the metal rods. At his approach, Emily took two steps away from the door. "Please. You gotta let me out," he says, voice sick and scratchy.

"Wha-What are you doing here?" she asks, fairly confused.

Damon.

Locked up in a cell.

Uhhh, what the hell?

"Stef-" Damon cut himself short.

Maybe it wasn't wise to spin a false story of how his brother was a mad man who'd trapped him here for no reason.

The truth certainly wouldn't work either.

"Stefan put you here," Emily finished for him. Damon exhaled tiredly.

"Just open the door, Emily. Please," he said.

"Why? Wh-" she paused short as she eyed around in distraught, and spotted a freezer at the end of the room.

Her eyes widened.

A body?

She hurried towards it.

"Emily!" Damon called. She ignored him as she opened,

and found two dozen bags of blood.

Her heart immediately hammered in her chest, and, for a moment, she felt light headed. Her eyes were wild wide, and her breath was shaky.

Damon sighed.

"You always knew the truth. Don't act so surprised," he said.

Emily acknowledged his words as facts.

She let the freezers door drop and stepped away from it.

"Hey!" exclaimed Zach, Damon and Stefan's nephew, the human who everyone believed was actually their uncle because he **looked** older. Emily's heart jumped at the intrusion.

He came near Damon's cell. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded of her.

Without warning, Damon puts his arms through and pulls Zach towards him by the neck. Zach is shocked, and immediately attempts to break free, but Damon is too strong to resist.

"Open this door, Emily! Or I'll kill him!" he threatens.

There was clearly no scenario in this, especially with Zach now, that he could convince Emily to willingly open the door, so this was his best, and maybe last, shot of escaping.

Emily panics.

"No. Don't-khjgkh," Zach stutters as Damon shuts him up by tightening his chock-hold on him.

"I'll **kill** him, Emily! Are you really gonna let that **happen**?" Damon pushes.

_ 'Shit!'_ her mind screams.

It felt like the longest half-minute she'd ever experienced as she stood there, debating whether to run for her life,

or to save the man opposite her, and **risk** her life.

Yes, she came armed, but could she take him?

Was the year and a half of training enough?

Was she physically strong enough to fight him,

a vampire?!

…Would she make it?

Literally ignoring all of her fears and thoughts, and as if running on instinct, she rushed to the door. In spite of Zach's strangled screams of rejection,

she opened it.

With door a quarter parted, and Damon's eyes lingering on her darkly from behind,

she ran for it, leaving Zach and hoping she'd supposedly saved him.

But when Damon tried to chase her, and Zach, from the floor, grasped his leg, Damon wrathfully turned to his jailer,

and snapped his neck.

…Then,

he turns his attention to the fleeing Gilbert.

"Emily!" he yelled, stumbling and struggling to run with his starved, weakened form.

She didn't wait, she ran as fast as her feet could take her, looking back every few seconds in fear of capture.

She spotted him rushing after her through the hall, and almost lost her footing from crippling horror.

She made it to the front door, unlocked, and opened it. She stormed out and didn't dare slow down.

She turned mid-way to her car upon hearing him scream, and saw that he'd stopped.

…Gradually,

slowly,

she stopped too.

From that distance, with him still in the house, on his knees in the shade, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her as Damon seemed redder than humanly possible,

And soon returned to normal.

Her eyes widened in realization.

…

Fighting against all sanity,

she walked **back** to the house.

He was heaving from the running; so was she.

She crouches down opposite him in sheer curiosity, and caution.

"The sun," she says. "**Now** it hurts you," she notes strangely. Damon smirks in mock.

"You just wait till nightfall, Em. We'll see who's laughing then," he retorts, succeeding in striking her with raw fear.

"I'll tell the sheriff," she confidently says. Damon chuckles at that.

"You really think I can't take her, or her so-called taskforce?" She considers his counter, and her fright escalates, but then

he didn't look so high and mighty now.

And she soon pieces together why.

"…You couldn't take Stefan though," she retorts.

Surely this was what Stefan was 'dealing' with for the past several days. Surely this was why they **both** disappeared the night of the party.

His amused expression

melts to one of anger.

"He won't trick me this time," he shakes his head once, as if vowing revenge as he rose back to his feet and she immediately did the same, taking a step back.

She had to ask.

She had to know.

"Is he like you?"

Damon grins.

"You know what? I'll let you toss a coin over it" he says. Emily clenches her jaw in frustration.

"It was you, wasn't it?! The animal attacks. **You** killed all those people! And Caroline! You were gonna kill her **too**, **weren't** you?!" she demands. Damon eyes her menacingly, the bearer of all the things he wanted unsaid, a threat to his presence.

If only he could reach her, the problem would end, and, more pleasantly, she'd cease to speak.

"Emily, let me make something very clear," he takes a step closer towards the sun-light, and she takes another one back. "I may not be able to get through this door," he approaches the cabinet to his side, with the vase on its surface, "but this can," he says, taking it into his palm, and facing her once more. Her heart jumps, and her eyes fix in alert. "If you don't get out of here in the next **thirty** seconds…I'm gonna throw it at you," he smirks like a mad man.

Taking the hint, and fearing releasing another word,

she turns,

and rushes back to her car.

XXX

Her car tires screech to the side of the road as she parks near the carwash. She jumps out of the vehicle, master-locks it, and runs for it to the crowd.

She stops short when one of the many cars being washed bursts into flames!

Emily's heart jumps in fear, and her eyes widen in alert.

Opposite the car, a few feet, was Bonnie Bennet, glaring without blinking at the flickering fire.

Emily storms towards her, just as Stefan does the same.

Emily pauses opposite Bonnie, then freezes completely with Stefan's threatening presence. The car behind sounds with the sizzling fires, and Emily is snapped out of it. She takes hold of the Bennet's upper-arms and shakes her. "Bonnie! Bonnie!" she calls. The Bennet suddenly blinks rapidly,

and the fire dissipates.

Emily looks to see so, so does Stefan and all the surrounding. She faces Bonnie, who speaks next, again. "What? What happened? Did I do that?" she asks in confusion.

"I think you did," Stefan says from beside Emily in concern, striking the Bennet with gradual fear.

"Bonnie, listen to me. You need to go to your grandmother, and get this under control, do you understand?" she insists. Stefan glances at Emily, the girl who knew too much for her own good.

"Get what under control?" Bonnie warily denies.

"You **know** what! Go! Now!" Emily impatiently tells. Bonnie nods repetitively and runs off in fear,

fear of herself.

"Stefan," Emily calls for his attention. He turns from looking at the fleeing Bennet to her. "I…I did…" she releases a shaky breath, washing a hand through her hair. Stefan is fairly worried by her tone and state, her shaking hand. "I…went…to your house…"

His eyes widen.

"Looking for proof, and I…found Damon-"

"Did you let him **out**?!" Stefan yells angrily and in sudden panic, causing the frightened Gilbert to jump.

"I-I had to! He was gonna kill your uncle!" she tells, her eyes watering. Stefan cups his lower face and his gaze fixes away, eyes wild.

"I have to get there," he says, turning on his heels.

"Wait! I'll drive you!"

XXX

"…Emily. Calm down. I know why you did it," Stefan tells quietly. The Gilbert wipes her persistent tears of shame and fear with the back of her hand. _'I had to. You forced me to,'_ she refrained from speaking her mind.

But Stefan had to know.

"Did you tell Elena?" She shakes her head.

"No. I…," she faces him momentarily. "Are you a vampire too, Stefan?" she asks.

"…Yes," Stefan forces out worriedly. Emily shakes her head in disappointment, placing her elbow on the door's side and her palm on her forehead.

"God…" she uttered.

"But, I'm not like Damon, Emily. He chooses to feed off of people. I don't. And I would never hurt her, Emily! I would never hurt Elena!" he insists.

"How can I?!" she yells, then lowers her tone. "How can I believe that?!" she asks in rejection. "All those people killed," her heart aches at her own words.

"That wasn't me. That was **Damon**. Emily please. Don't tell Elena," Stefan begs from beside her.

"Are you kidding me?! How can I **not** tell her?! How do you expect this to ever work with her in the dark?!" she demands.

"I'll tell her eventually, I just…" he quiets. Emily reads his pained expression.

"…You're scared she'll want to leave you," she finishes for him. His silence is enough of an answer.

They finally arrive at the house.

The sun was close to fully setting.

"Stay in the car," Stefan says to her as she parks and he climbs out in haste.

XXX

"Oh, shit," utters Emily, witnessing her aunt's car park opposite the Salvatore mansion. Elena climbs out just as Emily does. The former stops short as her older sister approaches her in haste.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" she asks in confusion.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Emily retorts. Elena lets out a shaky breath and washes a hand through her hair.

Emily's heart jumps, and mind deduces a conclusion she refused.

"What's wrong?" she asks. Elena stays silent for a long moment. She opens and closes her mouth several time in reluctance, or disbelief.

"I…I found…I don't even…**know** what I found…What it means…He's…Stefan's a," she speaks incoherently,

but Emily understands every word.

Just then, the man spoken of exits the house with a wooden stake in hand. He stops short at the steps of the porch upon spotting Elena, who in turn rushes towards him in determination. "What are you?!" she demands.

Stefan immediately glares at Emily, who was close behind her sister. "I didn't tell her, I swear!" she quickly says.

Elena's eyes widen.

She sharply turns to her sibling. "You **knew**?!" she asks in complete and utter shock. Her reaction is enough for Stefan to believe Emily, who sighs tiredly.

Elena is hit with realization. "…Of course you knew," she quietly utters. "That's why…the wooden stake, the gym, the reason you almost kicked Stefan out last night!" she exclaims.

"…Yes," Emily confesses. Elena's mouth remains parted in disbelief.

"I…How long?"

"Since I found the journals," she says.

"That was **years **ago! Back when mom and dad were still alive!" Elena exclaims. Stefan takes this in.

So, this was how she knew so much. The Gilbert journals.

Emily remains silent in confirmation. Elena turns from Stefan, to Emily, to Stefan once more, feeling a sense of betrayal. "…**What** are you?" she sternly repeats.

Stefan descends the few steps, and stops opposite Elena, who in turn stumbles back into Emily fearfully. Emily balances her sibling with hands on her shoulders.

Stefan feels a pang of pain in his chest, sorrow. _'She's scared of me,'_ he thought, knew.

Regardless, he did owe her the truth.

"Everything you know…and every belief that you have is about to change…Are you ready for that?" he asks. Emily inhales tensely.

"…**What**. Are you?" Elena pushes persistently. It took him a minute,

as if saying it aloud would make it real,

for all of them…

"…I'm a vampire…"

To Emily, hearing the full statement out of his mouth, was as if knowing it for the first time, and had the same, hammering effect on her heart, as when she'd seen the blood bags in his basement.

They wait for Elena to speak, and she finally does, but not coherently. "I…I I…hmph," she breathes, tears shimmering in her dark brown eyes.

Emily decides it was time to act.

"Okay. Elena," she starts, blocking her sister's view of Stefan. "It's okay," she says.

"How can you say that?!" Elena rejects. Emily inhales from tension.

This would not be easy.

She faces Stefan. "Go find Damon. I'll handle this," she says.

"Damon?" Elena asks in confusion. "He's a vampire too, isn't he?!" she shouts.

"Go," Emily repeats to Stefan, who was worried and fairly scared of losing Elena. "Go!" Emily snaps him out of it.

Stefan zooms away, disappearing before their eyes and causing both girls to gasp.

It takes them a minute to move.

XXXXX


	8. Chapter 8

"How are you so calm?!" Elena demands of her sister from beside her in her car, them having left Jenna's for Emily to retrieve later on.

"Because I knew," Emily casually replies, though her mood was far from a calm one, more like numb to the truth.

"God…Oh my god!" Elena suddenly exclaims, as if, just then, really taking it in. "What? How is this even possible?!" she insists.

"I don't know," Emily quietly humors.

Elena suddenly starts crying. Emily eyes her in sympathy. "Elena," she utters, reaching out and rubbing her shoulder, with her other hand still on the wheel.

"I…I was **happy**! I was…finally happy! And now…He's…Oh god!"

"…I know…I know…"

XXX

_"Hey. Is everything okay?"_ Stefan asks, on the phone with Emily who'd called him.

"Yeah. Did you find him?" she retorts, sitting on her bed in her room.

_ "Not yet. I'm working on it…How's Elena?"_ he asks, tone concerned.

"…She's…processing," Emily quietly answers. Stefan meets her answer with uncertain silence. "Call me when you've found him, okay?" Emily tries to wrap up,

for there wasn't much more to be said.

_"Yeah. Okay,"_ he replies, then hangs up.

Emily sighs shakily, and rises from her bed. She changes into her pjs, and keeps her stake on the nightstand. She refrains from visiting Elena's room again, who'd told her she wanted to be left alone.

She makes for Jeremy's, hoping Vicki wasn't inside.

Thankfully, she wasn't. Jeremy looks from his video game, seated on his beanbag in the dark bedroom. "Hey," he casually calls.

"Hey," she tiredly smiles, making way to flop down next to him.

"Wow! Okay," he gives in, letting his arm rest over her shoulder. "You okay," he asks, unpausing his Call of Duty game and continuing to play.

"Yeah," Emily simply says, letting her eyes momentarily shut in the aura of semi-safety in her brother's arms.

XXX

"Elena, please. Can I just…I just wanna explain everything," Stefan says the next morning outside her house door.

"How can I trust anything you say?" Elena pleas in sorrow.

"Because you already know. There's nothing I can keep from you anymore, so just let me say it all. Let me answer **all** of your question."

"What's going on here?" Emily asks, climbing down the stairs and towards them at the door.

XXX

Stefan takes them both out to a café, where he starts to explain whatever they needed explained.

"Okay. So. How do you wanna start?" he says after they'd ordered.

It was hard to believe what they were there to do; ask a vampire questions about his being.

It was crazy,

but **was** what was happening.

Emily might as well make use of it.

"The sun," she says. "It doesn't hurt Damon, but it did when he tried to leave the house. That doesn't make any sense," she says.

"What house?" Elena asks. Emily rolls her eyes at the intrusion.

"I went to their house looking for proof, and found Damon trapped in a cell. I let him out cause he threatened to kill Stefan's uncle. How is he, by the way, your uncle?" she asks Stefan as Elena takes in every word.

Stefan's face falls grim.

"He's dead," he says. Emily's and Elena's eyes widen.

"What? But I-"

"It's my fault. I starved him, and when he got out, he sucked Zach dry," Stefan coldly explains.

"Oh my god…" horrifically utters Elena.

Not wanting to relive the previous night, Stefan resumes: "As for the sunlight," he raises his ringed hand. "Daylight rings. They enable us to walk in the sun," he says. The two take this in as well.

"Hi," calls the waitress, setting their orders down. "Here are your drinks." She then takes her leave.

"Thanks," retorts Emily in dismiss, then faces Stefan once more as Elena asks her own question.

"What about…I know you eat garlic," she says. Emily doesn't know how she knows this; probably when he was making her dinner.

"Yes," Stefan nods, his care to answer Elena's question clearly, and perhaps unintentionally, more than that with Emily.

"Crucifixes?"

"Decorative."

"Holy water?" she continues. Emily refrains from rolling her eyes at her sister's internet-based questions.

"Drinkable."

"Mirrors?"

"Myth."

"You said you don't kill to survive," Emily cuts in. "Blood bags?" she asks.

"No. Not even that. **Animal** blood keeps me alive, even though it means me being not as strong as Damon. I just, choose not to," he clarifies, as if desperate for their approval.

"He hurt Caroline. He could've hurt Emily, yet you let him get involved with her," Elena angrily says. Stefan's heart jumps at the serious accusation, but it wasn't entirely true.

"If he wanted to hurt Emily, he would've, but he didn't, because he knew he couldn't compel her," Stefan assures. Emily feels a sense of pride at that.

"Compel?" Elena furrows her brows.

"To…control her mind. Vampires can do that. He did it with Caroline, and that's why she's confused."

"Wait, so. Why couldn't he do it with Emily?" Elena asks.

"Because I'm wearing vervain, and so are you," Emily says, gently grasping her sister's wrist with the silver, charm bracelet on it.

"Vervain?" Elena counters.

"It's a kind of herb that protects its wearer from mind-compulsion," answers Stefan. "It's in the necklace I gave you too." Elena and Emily both look to her chest, spotting the necklace that Stefan had gifted Elena several days prior.

Elena shakes her head.

Things were going too well, and that felt wrong.

Stefan was not in any way an 'okay' guy.

"You **let** him hurt Caroline," she says. Emily sighs tiredly.

"Forcing Damon **not** to do something is much more dangerous," he tries.

Emily's heart clenches at that,

Damon.

The man who'd tried to hunt her down and most likely would've killed her.

The charmer who just a few days ago, she was fluttering like a happy butterfly, dancing in his arms, lost in his eyes.

She frowns deeply, upset with herself for being played.

Elena shakes her head again. "That doesn't make it okay," she says, snapping Emily out of it.

"No. No, none of this is **okay**, Elena. I know that," Stefan confesses heartedly. Elena inhales from tension.

"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" Emily asks off the top of her head. Stefan locks eyes with hers.

"Not in Mystic Falls; not anymore," he says.

"Not anymore?" Elena asks. Stefan nods.

"There was a time when this town was very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone."

"We can't promise that," Elena quickly retorts. Emily shuts her eyes tiredly.

Last time she told Damon she'd do that, he assured her it would be of no use,

and though she was not one to easily give in,

Damon genuinely scared her, and in a moment of horror, she truly believed he was capable of anything.

"Elena, give me today. I will answer any questions that you have and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice," Stefan persists.

XXX

"Stop here," Stefan says to Emily as she drives.

"Here?" Emily asks for conformation, for 'here' was nowhere in particular. They were down a dirt path in Mystic Falls' lush, green forests.

"Yeah," Stefan nods. She parks, and he exits the car. Emily follows after him, and Elena from the back.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asks with suspicion equal to Emily's. Stefan stops to face the sisters.

"I wanna show you something," he says.

"In the middle of nowhere?" Elena retorts.

"This didn't used to be nowhere," Stefan retorts, smiling calmly at the memory. He faces a short, red-brick pillar. Ivy snaked around its form, and a white, ceramic ball on top, coated in dust. It seemed to signal an entryway of sort. "Used to be my home."

The girls wonder at this as he walks down the path, and they follow, shortly presented by red-brick ruins invaded by greenery and trees,

and age.

The sun shone down through what spaces in the sky, highlighting dust particles floating in the warm air. "It looks so…" utters Elena, stopping on one side of Stefan, while Emily on the other.

"Old?" Stefan finishes for her. "It's because they are." Elena's brows furrow.

"Wait. How long have you…" she draws. Stefan catches her meaning.

"I've been 17 years old…since 1864," he answers. Emily's jaw parts at that.

"Oh, my God," breathes Elena.

"You said you wanted to know," he glances at both of them. "I'm not gonna hold anything back," he points this statement at Elena.

Then,

he begins.

"Half-century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best friends." Emily can't seem to even imagine that.

"You knew Katherine in 1864? Damon made it seem like-" he cuts Elena off, disturbed by the mention of the nowadays version of his brother: cruel and reckless.

"Damon was trying to make you think that I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you and he wanted to ruin it."

"All because you loved the same woman," utters Emily as if in disappointment. Stefan faces her.

"She wasn't just any girl," his gaze falters, not wanting to relive the memories. Regardless, he does, for Elena. "She was full of life and laughter, and she was beautiful. We both fell for her…" he says. Emily's heart pinches at that strangely, as if the statement bothered her. Her sister had the exact same reaction. "But…she chose me," he continues, and Elena's state of discomfort ascends. "I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."

"The first Founder's Party," Elena notes. He nods.

"Where you and Damon signed the registry," says Emily. He nods again, then turns to Elena, resuming down his original, more important point.

"I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him."

She hadn't thought of it that way. Emily. Neither of them did.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

Back when she drank his every word like wine, she did.

She wondered when she'd suddenly dismissed the point.

When he tried to kill her, when she found the truth, and his every past statement was a bad dream, not to be believed.

But, alas…it seemed he hadn't lied about Katherine.

"I only knew that I wanted her. And, you see, the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even. What Damon wants, Damon usually gets," Stefan continues, causing the sisters to tense in concern. "Now, I didn't know it at the time, but turns out, that night, Katherine was with him too." The siblings cock an eyebrow at this. "But it wasn't, exactly a matter of choice…for either of us…She could, control my mind, and Damon's. And she compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together, forever," he says.

"It was she who turned you. Both of you?" Emily asks.

"…Yes," Stefan says. "Didn't work out though. But, Damon and I," he kneels down near one of the fallen foundations, and takes something from the floor. "looks like we're stuck with each other. Like it or not," he comes up with a piece of cloth, frowning as he uncovered it. Emily's eyes widen.

"That's Damon's. Isn't it?" she asks. Stefan looks to her as she approaches him and takes it from his hand.

"I took it from him. I have to give it back." Emily caresses the ring's jeweled surface, uncertain what to make of it.

"No. Don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden," Elena says, approaching the two as Emily also well glared at Stefan's words.

"Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows can hurt me," Stefan anxiously says.

"And how is that?" Elena carelessly asks, but Emily already knows the answer.

"By hurting you," he replies. Emily inhales from extreme tension.

The only way she'd let Damon get to her sister would be on her own dead body.

When she came to think of it thought, that wasn't a very far-fetched possibility.

"Okay, wait. Let's just think about this carefully," Emily says. Stefan grows impatient. There was no 'careful' with Damon. "If you give it back to him, he'll be able to walk in the sun again. There'll be nothing keeping him from 'hurting Elena', or anyone, for that matter." Elena nods enthusiastically at that. Stefan shakes his head.

"You don't understand. If I don't give him what he wants, he **will** hurt her," Stefan pushes. Both girls are stricken with fear by this. "But, if I do-"

"What, you think there's a chance he **won't**?" Emily rejects.

"Look, I can handle Damon," he lies, not wanting to explain **why** Damon **wouldn't** hurt Elena if he didn't have to. "You have to trust me, Emily. Please."

The siblings glance at one another.

Emily blows frustrated air from her nose.

She hands him the ring.

XXX

"What's going on?" Emily demands, rushing into her living room to pick her brother off the floor, against the couch. Behind her was Stefan and Elena, and opposite Jeremy was Matt and Vicki, nearer to the kitchen entrance.

"She's really messed up," Matt replies, referring to Vicki.

"I'm fine," Jeremy shrugs Emily off him, not wanting to be helped up by his sister.

"Elena. Back up," Stefan says to Elena, who was approaching Vicki in concern. Emily turns at his statement warily.

"Vicki. Look at me," he says, cupping her cheek. The group eye him strangely. "Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine," he quietly says. Vicki nods slowly at his words.

The sisters discover what he was doing.

He was compelling her.

Their eyes widen in both curiosity and shock.

"Guys. Take her up to bed. Shut the door," he faces Matt and Jeremy. "She's gonna be okay. Come on," he guides her towards them, they who comply and take her up the stairs.

"You know what's wrong with her?" Elena asks as Stefan faces her and Emily, who were inside the kitchen then.

"Yeah," Stefan warily nods.

"Well?" Emily pushes. Stefan clenches his jaw from tension.

"She's transitioning," he reluctantly declares.

"Transitioning to what?" Elena furrows her brows.

Emily's eyes further widen.

"Oh no," she utters. Stefan glances at her, and gives one sole nod.

"A vampire," he confirms. Elena is taken aback. Emily swallows nervously, eyeing about in uncertainty.

"What?" Elena breathes.

"Damon must have gotten to her," he continues. Emily snaps back at that.

Damon.

Was he the core of every new problem?!

"But she's new. She hasn't completed her transition yet," he assures.

"And how exactly would she do that?" Emily angrily demands. Stefan debates telling them. He hated being the bearer of bad news.

"…She has to feed on human blood," he gives. Emily cups her lower face, turning away in disbelief. She hears her sister ask from behind her:

"And…If she doesn't?"

"…She'll die," Stefan confesses.

Emily turns to him again from the kitchen counter at that.

The room grows a grim silent.

"…How long-" Emily swallows to make wet her suddenly dry throat. "How long does she have?" she asks.

"…Maybe a few hours," Stefan replies.

"Oh god," Elena breathes. "She's upstairs with them right now!" Elena exclaims, rushing to go there herself. Stefan grasps her upper arm to stop her.

Emily doesn't wait. She rushes up there herself. "Emily, wait! She doesn't know what's happening yet," Stefan follows after her.

"Well, I'm not waiting till she decides my brother is her next meal!" Emily retorts, climbing up the stairs. Stefan lets her as Elena follows too.

Just then, the door to Jeremy's opens, and Vicki pushes past them all to run outside the house, ignoring everyone's calls.

Matt heads out first,

and has zero visual on his sister.

XXX

It had been nearly three hours since Stefan had went out to look for Vicki. The Gilberts, minus Jenna who was out, were all in a state of panic, Jeremy the only one in the dark, and fairly confused as to what had happened to his supposed girlfriend.

The doorbell rings, and Emily, from the kitchen, with her siblings, heads to answer it.

She opens,

to find Damon.

XXXXX


	9. Chapter 9

Immediately, Emily tries to shut the door in his face. Damon easily pushes it open. "Oh, come on, Em!" Damon smirks in amusement.

Elena and Jeremy come from the kitchen to witness the commotion. Elena freezes in fear, and Jeremy is indifferent to the situation.

Emily composes herself for her brother's sake, and casually, or, as casual as she could be, says: "Elena. Take Jeremy and go upstairs. I wanna talk to Damon."

Damon is amused by her show.

"No way," Elena shoots. Damon cocks a brow. Seems she'd somehow found out. Did Emily really tell her, or was it Stefan? Regardless, it was just her. Jeremy looked to be oblivious to the truth.

"**Elena**!...**Now**," Emily glares heatedly at her sister.

Jeremy rolls his eyes. "Come on, Elena," he says, trying to move his sister on, unaware that she was afraid of the threat Damon suddenly posed.

She finally, reluctantly, moves as Emily continues to signal with her eyes that it would be okay.

It was hard to believe it wouldn't be with Emily, her older sister, someone she trusted, felt safe around, and the first person to know about all of this, the only one of them with training that Elena convinced herself was enough for protection.

The two head up the stairs, with Elena's face fixed over her shoulder in fear. Emily forced her expression to remain placid so as to assure her younger sister.

Elena and Jeremy disappear upstairs, and Emily's heart jumps at Damon's voice, wary of any sudden movements. "So, was it you or Stefan, who stupidly told Elena the truth?" he asks.

"…What do you want, Damon?" she counters.

"Relax, babe. I'm just looking for Stefan," he says. "May I come in? Oh. Wait. Course I can. I've been invited," he smirks, indeed stepping in and causing Emily to take several steps back in fear. He closes the door behind him, and Emily further panics.

"He's not here," she tells, wishing he'd leave.

Damon looks around regardless, then faces Emily. He walks her into the wall so she'd stop trying to evade him.

In a split-second's decision, Emily pulls out her stake,

and attempts to stab at his chest.

Damon reacts quickly using his heightened reflexes.

He grasps her arm firmly, frowning deeply at her reaction.

"And I thought we were getting along," he growls, clenching her hand till it hurt.

"Ah!" she let out, the stake dropping from her hand. Her heartrate increased madly, and her mind ran back and forth in search of escape.

"You know what I want **really** want? Hm?" he asks, loosening his grip on her wrist a little. "It's to kill **you**," he confesses, nearing her neck with his face. Emily shut her eyes and lips and forced her tears of horror to remain frozen. It took everything in him not to bite down and suck her dry. "But at the same time," he pulls back, his face less than three inches from hers. "I don't," she feels his breath ghost on her lips, his eyes as though mesmerizing hers. "You're just too much fun," he smirks,

then it dissipates. "But if you try anything like that again…

I **will** kill you," he promises.

Somehow, her heart beats even faster.

He finally backs off.

"Tell Stefan I'm looking for him," he says, approaching the front door and opening it. He steps out, and peeks back in before closing it. He locks onto her terrified gaze as she stands opposite the door but quite far from it. "Oh, and, tip for later. Careful who you invite into the house," he says,

then takes his leave.

Emily breathes heavily as he shuts the door, as if hungry for air she'd been missing since he'd stepped in. She realizes her tears were falling freely as she acknowledges his words, and promises it to herself,

to never let a stranger in.

"Wait. He's gone," Emily hears Elena say atop the stairs. "Yeah. He's gone," Emily, who assumes she was talking to Stefan, wipes her tears away to insure that her sister not see her scared. "Stefan, please. Just give him the ring."

XXX

The night passed, and Stefan finally showed up late that night. He said he'd found and lost Vicki, but that it was too late, and that she'd fed.

The girls were shocked.

But he promised to find and teach her to live like he did, on animal blood, promised that she wouldn't hurt anyone again.

The girls hoped he was right, but then Elena, after promising to keep Stefan's secret, told him that she couldn't be with him anymore.

They broke up, and Emily was left with pieces of her broken sister to put back together. She slept beside her that night for comfort, and promised her that everything was going to be alright,

something neither of them believed.

The next morning, Jeremy tells them he's heading out to the police station, where a search party was being organized to find Vicki. The girls try to keep him from going with vague excuses regarding the importance of school, or how they'd be called if she was found. He was not convinced.

Speaking of Vicki, the Salvatores had found her, and Emily was headed to insure Stefan was working on her.

XXX

That very same day, it was Halloween, and a party was being organized at Mystic High, even at Emily's college, Whitmore college.

Obviously, Emily wasn't going.

No, she and Elena were headed to Stefan's to check up on Vicki around noon.

Unfortunately for them, Damon opens the door.

"Well, hello," he smirks. The girls refrain from jumping in fear. Emily was about to ask what he was doing there, momentarily forgetting it was **his** house.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena asks.

"And good morning to you too, Robin," he says to her.

"Damon, is he here?" Emily pushes. Damon's gaze locks onto hers, causing her heart to jump.

"Upstairs. Singing 'The Rain In Spain'," he muses.

"Go," Emily tells Elena, who takes a minute to confirm her sister's words. She then pushes past Damon and steps in, disappearing aside in search of Stefan.

"Ooh. Wanted to get me alone? Sorry, but, it'll have to wait," Damon walks past Emily. "I'll call you."

"Why'd you do it, Damon?" she asks.

Damon stops in his tracks and turns to face her with furrowed brows. She walks down the few steps and approaches him with newly found confidence even she was unaware of the source of. "Do what?" he asks with little interest.

"Turn Vicki. You could've killed her, like you killed all those other people," she angrily reminds. Damon rolls his eyes at her morality. "But you didn't? Were you just trying to get to me? Trying to get to Jeremy," she irritably asks.

"Believe or not, doll. Not everything is **about** you," he said. She cocks a brow, wondering why he kept calling her names. "She was miserable. She was begging for it," he says.

"Can you **hear** how that sounds?" she asks in sarcasm.

"Look. You got an explanation. Take it or leave it," he says, walking back and away to his red 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible.

XXX

"So she's a vampire with issues? What am I supposed to do? Becau-" Elena stops short when she catches sight of Emily coming to her side near the stairs to the upper floor.

"I'm gonna keep her here until I know that she's safe," Stefan answers Elena's previous question.

"Yeah? How long is that?" Vicki herself asks, jumping a few steps from the stairs to be in eye-sight. Both Gilberts tense at her suddenly threatening presence.

"Uh, we can talk about that later," Stefan uncertainly replies.

"Hey. Vicki. How are you?" Elena worriedly asks. Vicki glances at the younger Gilbert from her spot. She smirks and raises a brow.

"How am I? You're kidding, right?" she retorts smugly. The sisters grow more wary of her. Stefan hears their racing hearts, and decides to break the ice. He fully faces Vicki as she further descends to approach them.

"Why don't we head back inside. Talk some more?" he suggests to her.

"Fine. Whatever," Vicki nods, crossing her arms casually.

Stefan then turns to the duo once more, about to suggest something he wasn't very comfortable, but whatever might change Elena's mind about…the breakup.

"You guys can stay, if you want," he says. They share a glance, then nod.

Stefan guides the three into the dining room, where there were two steaming mugs on the table. Vicki sits at one tip of the table, Stefan to her side, and Emily opposite him, with Elena beside her.

"Okay. Let's pick up where we left off," he starts, as though a teacher to a student.

"Right. Something about us being…cold? Cause I don't feel cold," she says. The topic catches the sisters' attention. Emily vaguely remembers a time when she thought Damon felt cold to the touch, and blamed it on the weather.

"You feel cold to others. You don't feel cold yourself," he explains. "There are many ways to deal with that. Coffee is our friend," he points at her mug with his between his palms. "It's the caffeine. It circulates through our veins and warms our bodies so we're not so cold to the touch."

"Well, what if I wanna drink human blood?" Vicki whines casually. Emily and Elena each raise a brow at that warily. Stefan speaks quickly, noting their state.

"You have to learn to live with that urge. Fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time," he says. Immediately, Vicki rolls her eyes.

"Oh, God. Don't start with that whole 12 Steps thing," she breathes as though tiredly, then locks onto Stefan's displeased gaze. "School counselor has been down that road. It doesn't work for me," the girls remember when Vicki was trying that, and miserably failing. Emily was firm on the fact that it was because Vicki never had the full intention of changing.

"It can work. It's your choice, Vicki," Stefan tries to encourage.

"So you've never tasted human blood?" she asks him slyly. He knows that the sisters faced him then. He kept his gaze firm on Vicki.

"Not in a long time," he confidently said.

"How long?" she pushes. Emily squints her eyes at Vicki's attitude, the one she always had a problem with. Stefan finally breaks his gaze from the sour topic and looks to the side in dismiss.

"Years and years. I'm not proud of my past behavior," he states. Neither of the sisters could just ignore the reminder that surely Stefan had taken lives before. Surely it happened.

"Does this sketchy feeling ever go away?" Vicki suddenly, irritably asks. "It's like I have a massive hangover," she puts her hands on both sides of her head. "This daylight thing is a bitch," she complains, then gets to her feet. "Ugh. I need more blood," she says, something that made both sisters highly uncomfortable. "Where's your bathroom? I have to pee. Why do I have to pee? I thought I was dead." Stefan waves her away, and she heads to find the bathroom. He then faces the two opposite him.

"I'm gonna, uh, I'm gonna get her some more…" he refrains from saying blood, considering the look on both their faces. "Right. I'll be quick," he rises as well and disappears in the corridor.

Elena lets out a sigh from beside Emily, burying her face in her hands. Emily exhales as well, about to pat Elena's back when Vicki walked back in.

"False alarm. My body's feeling really funky. It's a good funk, but it's weird," she steps up to Stefan's chair and pulls out her phone, humming.

"Who are you calling?" Emily suspiciously asks her. Vicki looks up at her.

"Jeremy," she casually replies. Emily frowns deeply at this, her heart jumping in concern as Elena speaks up from beside her.

"Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore," she tells something she thought was obvious. Vicki rolls her eyes at her.

"Oh, come on. I'm gonna see whoever I wanna see," she retorts. Emily inhales from tension, feeling awfully threatened by Vicki and wishing Stefan would walk back in.

"Even though you could hurt him?" Elena pushes.

"I would never hurt Jeremy," Vicki firmly tells.

"You may think that, Vicki," Emily says, "but the truth is you don't know what you're capable of yet."

"You have to let him go," Elena finishes.

"Oh, really? And how long have you been preparing the you're-not-good-enough speech? I assume it predates the vampire thing," she bitterly states, glaring heatedly at Elena. Emily rises as calmly as she could to her feet to divert attention from her sister.

"Vicki. Look at me," she says softly. Vicki glances at her again as Elena squirms beneath her gaze. "You know there's a chance you could hurt him, even unintentionally. Do you want that to happen?" she asks logically.

"So, **what**, I'm just supposed to **stop** seeing **everyone** I care about because I might **hurt** them?! I might as well be **dead**, then," she shouts angrily.

"That's not what we meant, Vicki," Elena tells heartedly. She scoffs, and turns on her heels.

"Whatever." She rushes up the stairs to wherever her room was. The girls sigh tiredly.

XXX

"Real classy," Jeremy mocks Emily as she fixes her bra beneath her shaggy Black Widow costume. They were on their way to the party at the school. Emily wouldn't have come along if Elena hadn't literally begged her, **and** forced her to wear a costume because Jeremy strictly refused to do so.

"Ugh, shut up. It's your fault I'm in a costume," she complains. He chuckles at that.

"And I'm **very** grateful," Elena, who had taken Emily's arm and was dressed as a human-chopping nurse, smiles at her. Emily rolls her eyes at her.

They head inside, and bump into Matt, who had on a costume very similar to Elena's.

"Hey!" he exclaims. "Elena. Emily? What are you doing here?" he asks. Emily forces an obviously fake smile.

"I'm asking myself the same question," she retorts.

"Wow, you both went with last year's costume too, huh," he muses.

"Well, we didn't know we were coming till an hour ago," Elena sighs.

"Me neither," he replies, then faces Jeremy, who was scouring around for…Vicki, who'd discreetly texted him to join her at the party. "And you're going as…you," Matt grins, mocking a Jeremy with no costume.

"Yeah, whatever," Jeremy shrugs, walking off.

"What's his deal?"

"He's not talking to me right now," Elena states tiredly. Apparently, her and Jeremy had another talk in the kitchen about Vicki while Emily was upstairs. "We got into a fight." Emily sighs at that, and observes the curiously dressed crowd of high school students.

"I got into it too with Vicki when she got home." Emily snaps at that, and Elena's eyes widen. "I'm trying not to smother her, but part of me didn't wanna let her out of my sight," he finishes, eyes fixed on Elena who quickly asks:

"She's here?" warily

"Yeah. You can't miss her. She's a vampire."

Elena breathes heavily in panic. "Where did Jeremy go?" she asks, Emily already eyeing around and moving.

"Wh-Elena? What's the matter?" Matt asks in confusion, following after them.

"We-We have to find him!"

XXX

They didn't find Jeremy, they found her first. Well, Stefan did, and the girls found him.

When Matt appeared shortly after them, Vicki made a scene, distracting everyone with accusations of harassment pointed at Stefan, who was just trying to help.

Then, she vanished, again.

There wasn't time to ask Stefan how he lost her from the house as the group split up to find her, Stefan alone, and Emily and Elena together.

Rushing out one of the school's emergency exits,

they do find her,** and** Jeremy.

"Jeremy!" Elena yells at Vicki, who was about to charge at him again. She rushes forward while Emily, catching sight of wood huddled up in a trash can right beside her, picks out a broken wooden plank with a sharp edge for protection.

Upon grabbing her arm, Vicki literally throws Elena off of her, and into a pile of junk. "Vicki, no!" yells Jeremy. She faces him again, dark lines beneath her hungry eyes, and visible fangs threatening to sink in as she neared the horrified boy.

Without hesitation, Emily drove the plank into her upper back,

…

…

then her eyes went wide.

Vicki froze.

Jeremy stared wildly at the scene before him.

Realizing what she'd done, Emily quickly ripped it back out,

but it was too late.

Stefan arrived in haste, to witness Vicki facing Emily with a broken, tearful gaze. Emily gasped, dropping the plank.

Vicki's skin grew grey,

blood pooled at her chest.

She fell,

and Emily's heart fell with her.

Elena had gotten back up and rushed to Jeremy, who was shaking in panic.

Emily stood there, glossy eyes staring, gawking at her handiwork.

Stefan slowly approached her, placed a hand on her shoulder "Em-"

"No," she quietly uttered, yelping away from his touch as though in shock. Jeremy's screams and cries finally tuned into her ears, causing her heart to crush itself in her chest.

Her reddened eyes slowly rose to meet Stefan's, that felt guilt consume him. "…Get them out of here," she quietly requested.

"No, Emi-" Elena started.

"**Now**!" she shouted unintentionally, refusing to meet their eyes. She glanced at Stefan again. "Please," she whispered desperately.

Hesitantly, Stefan nodded.

He started towards Elena and Jeremy. "Come on," he softly told, pulling out his phone in the process,

and dialing Damon.

XXXXX


	10. Chapter 10

"Emily," he called. From her spot on the ground near Vicki's grey body, Emily's eyes snapped to Damon, who was stood opposite her for some reason.

She barely acknowledged his presence as she re-faced the body. "…I killed her," she quietly says, tears streaming silently down her stained cheeks, her hands open-palmed in her lap, covered in half-heartedly wiped blood.

Damon took in her words, her state, and felt his heart pinch him in a minor form of guilt. He ripped his eyes away from her and shook it off. "Go home. I'll take care of this," he said.

She didn't reply, just sat there, as if as dead as the body opposite her.

Damon clenched his jaw from tension and inhaled tiredly. He approached her, crouching down beside her. "Emily," he called firmly. She shook her head repeatedly.

"No…No, I did this. I killed Matt's sister," she gasped and quivered as more tears fell. Damon rolled his eyes.

"For fuck's sake, Em. You were protecting your sister. Besides. **I** turned her, remember?" he told with a hint of sarcasm.

Emily snapped to face him, feeling anger boil up in her chest,

till she realized she didn't have it in her to yell.

Damon refused her glossy, red-eyed gaze, and looked instead to the body. He noted how it had happened. Seemed Emily finally did what she'd threatened to do to him. He was kind of impressed, but she obviously didn't want to hear that.

Emily didn't overlook that he couldn't look her in the eye,

as though he knew what he'd done was wrong.

"Go home. I got this," he repeated. Emily sniffed and took a minute, her tears finally freezing. Damon stole a glance before she got to her feet alas, but slipped on her high-heel boots, and nearly feel till Damon shot up and grabbed her arm. "Easy there," he spared her a smirk to mask his spark of concern.

She ripped her arm free, her nose scrunched up as if in disgust or resistance. She didn't face him, and said nothing as she turned away wordlessly, leaving Damon more uncomfortable than he ought to be.

XXX

"Emily!" exclaims Elena, who was covered by a brown blanket and stood near Stefan at her house's front porch. Elena rushes forward as Emily climbs the step to her. She throws herself into her arms, and Emily embraces her tightly, letting out a small sigh of relief. Elena sniffs back tears as she pulls back to face her "Are you okay?" she asks. Emily nods and forces on a brave smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she calmly assures. Elena doesn't believe her, but at least her sister was physically unharmed. Emily clears her dry throat before asking: "How's Jeremy?" Elena's frown deepens.

"He's…a mess, Em. It's just like when mom and dad died," she tells sorrowfully. Emily eyes her sympathetically, sharing her pain for their younger brother. "He can't. He can't go through this again, Emily! He-He's crying! and he keeps telling me that he doesn't understand, and to make it stop," tears fall from her sister's eyes. Emily shushes her as she gulps down the lump in her own throat and brings her back into her arms.

"Wait," Elena says after a few seconds. She faces Stefan with a glimmer in her eyes. "Can you make him forget?" she asks, then faces Emily, whose brows were furrowed as she considered this.

"Elena," Stefan uttered uncertainly. She faced him again.

"Stefan, please. I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I want him to forget everything that happened. Right? Emily?"

Emily didn't reply as she looked to the ground and approached them.

Was it the right call?

Why did it feel wrong?

Yes, when their parents died, Jer was a mess, they all were, but maybe he was most, being the youngest and finding it difficult to process.

But there was something else, something more important.

**What **he saw.

He saw her turn.

He saw Vicki turn.

He didn't need this.

He must have already been confused out of his mind.

"If I did it," Stefan speaks, snapping Emily out of her train of thoughts, "there's no guarantee that it would work…because of who I am…because of how I live…I don't have the ability to do it right," he says with great disappointment.

"I can do it," they all turn at a familiar voice.

Damon.

He steps up the porch, and nears the three. He glances at all of them, then faces **her**. "If it's what you want, I'll do it," he says to Emily, who was eyeing him strangely, as she was uncertain what he was doing there.

For a moment, there was silence as she attempted to comprehend his presence, and he somewhat patiently awaited an answer.

Stefan looks at Damon almost in shock.

Was it genuine concern he saw in his eyes?

How was that even possible?

Elena found it awfully strange too, but the image of an in-tears Jeremy was still frozen in her mind; it was all she could think of.

"Emily?" she called, snapping her out of it. She gazes off.

"…Jeremy shouldn't get involved in…all of this…Vicki meant a lot to him, and the last thing he needs, is to remember…the way she was…before she…" she trailed off, then faced Damon once more. "Do it," she nodded.

"…What do you want him to know?" he asked. She was still confused as to why he was helping, but answered regardless.

"…Tell him that…Vicki left town…and she's not coming back…That he shouldn't look for her or worry about her….He's gonna miss her, but…he knows it's for the best," she sniffs and faces away, refusing to shed any more tears.

She felt numb inside,

and she knew it wouldn't last.

Damon nods at her words. "Okay. Let's go," he says, pointing his head at the door. Emily opens it and enters with Damon after her.

XXX

It was done.

Emily had to remove his leather bracelet, and let Damon in to speak to him as she supervised from the door's threshold.

Once he was finished, he rose from Jeremy's bed and approached Emily. They exited the room, and she closed the door on her brother. With hand still on the door knob, Emily noted it was still stained in blood, and for a moment, she froze at the sight. Her hand came off the knob and was hovering in the air before her. She then crossed her arms and hid her hands beneath her armpits.

Damon observed the whole thing. He looks to the side and grimaces irritably for reasons even he was unaware of. "When you have the guts to protect someone you love," he says. She faces him. "Don't cry about it," he strictly tells. Anger flashed across Emily's face.

"Yeah? Is that what you call it, when **you** kill people?" she retorts.

"No, I do it cause I want to," he shoots back, the step he took forward forcing her into the wall behind her. She kept her features firm as she eyed him with a heart racing in slight fear.

"I don't believe you," he cocks a brow at her. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't feel remorse, Damon," she boldly says. Damon's lips curl with annoyance. She stands straight then. "And if you don't want to hear it, that's fine. But don't lie to my face and take me for a fool," she demands quietly. Damon takes this in, and gives his head a tilt.

"I wouldn't make that mistake," he lightly smirks as though in some form of victory.

He turns then and heads down the stairs.

XXX

"Emily?" Elena called. After checking up on Jeremy and finding him asleep, Elena searched for her other sibling. She stopped by the bathroom,

and heard heavy sobs coming from within.

Her eyes went wide and she rushed open the door.

Opposite her, was Emily, at the sink, her red-tinted hands beneath the jet of water, wiping vigorously at her skin as she tried to rid it of the stubborn liquid.

She gasped and cried heartedly, simply unable to stop.

All she could see was Vicki's teary face right after she'd impaled her. Vicki's fall. Vicki's sickly grey body. Vicki's death. The death she caused.

She killed someone.

"Oh my god, Em," Elena softly called, pulling her sister into her.

She knew that nothing she said would help as she switched off the sink and wiped at her sibling's hand with a towel that also grew red. It didn't stop her from trying though.

She held her.

That was all she could do.

She held her sister in her arms, wishing Damon had erased her memories too,

but she knew Emily never would have agreed to that.

XXX

The next day, Emily, who had an incredibly hard time falling asleep and eventually passed out from exhaustion, awoke with a twisted stomach.

She felt horrible.

She literally got up, and hurled into her bin, shocking Elena awake from beside her.

Elena suggested Emily not go to college that day either, and offered to stay with her.

Emily told her to go to school, and that she intended on sleeping most of the day regardless.

She just didn't have it in her to face the day.

How could she?

For a moment, it actually felt as though the gut-wrenching feeling of guilt would never preside.

She tried heartedly to shut out the image of the deceased body that persisted on appearing before her every few minutes. All day felt like a battle in her mind, and chest, with the occasional distractions presented by Jenna, whom Elena had told that Emily was simply not feeling well, and Jeremy.

Jeremy was a whole other story.

He came to her after school was over and flopped down next to her on the bed to do 'homework,' something that shocked her awake a little as he seemed to be in an eerily good mood.

At first she was really weirded out, and had to act unsuspecting,

but then…she was content,

content with the fact that, unlike her miserable state, he wasn't falling apart over the death of someone close to him.

A death he couldn't remember…

It felt surreal, to know something, know that someone knew something too, but they somehow all of a sudden **didn't**.

It felt…not wrong, but not right either.

She was easily distracted from the contradiction upon realizing what Jeremy was doing beside her.

Homework.

When was the last time she'd seen him do that?

And why was he all smiley?

She heard what Damon said to him, so she didn't understand why fixing what he knew about Vicki also fixed…him.

She would have been more freaked out if the version of her brother opposite her…wasn't the one she was used to her whole life…This was the real Jeremy. The cheerful, ambitious, energized younger Gilbert who always had them smiling along,

the person she and Elena and Jenna had been trying to bring back ever since their parents died…

Unintentionally, Emily thought of Damon.

She thought of how it was his doing, and how much worse thigs could have been with Jeremy if Damon hadn't, for unknown reasons, stepped up to offer a hand.

_'Maybe he felt guilty,'_ she assumed.

Somehow, Damon consumed her thoughts for the rest of the day.

She didn't…understand him.

On one hand, she thought it was very clear: a complicated past made him a bitter, but not heartless, person, who didn't like sharing feelings or showing weakness, who liked to feel in charge.

All of that could have been pointing to a vice, of a time when he wasn't so bitter, when he was more open, more vulnerable, and possibly felt his life was out of control.

…On the other hand, she was aware she did not know the exact circumstances of said time. What exactly happened to change him, if something ever had, and was it his or someone else's fault?

Was Damon responsible for who he was today, or was someone else?

…Regardless…she felt she owed him…gratitude…He gave her something back she'd tried so hard to retrieve herself, and on his own terms.

Right?

XXX

Outside the house, Sheriff Forbes questioned those related to Vicki about her sudden disappearance as Matt called it in.

They all said they didn't know, and only Elena lied the same.

Outside the station, she ran into Stefan, and told him that she could no longer see him, despite confessing to him the night before that she didn't want to forget the way she felt about him. Stefan was hurt, but understood.

After school, she heads home and naps, then is visited by Bony, who shows her her magical abilities by making the feathers in her pillow case float in the air, and confessing she was a witch.

They then head out for coffee, and talk about Stefan, and how he and Elena broke up.

Eventually, she is convinced to at least try and talk things through, confessing she was just worked up by what happened with Vicki.

She goes to see him, only to find some blonde in a towel.

Fairly upset, she heads home, and doesn't tell Emily, assuming Emily didn't need more on her plate.

An hour later, Stefan himself comes over to explain to Elena who the woman she saw was.

Lexi, his best friend for over a hundred years.

He tells her she is here for his birthday, and that he and she were headed to the Grill to celebrate it, in spite of himself.

Elena is reluctant to go, but eventually, later that night, she does.

At the Grill, she comes across Damon, and asks him what he'd done to Jeremy, who was acting very strange. He states that he took away his suffering as though that was a clear enough answer for her, and walks away.

Later, she and Lexi got a chance to speak properly this time, and Elena realized that Lexi was actually very sweet. She bought her fears about Stefan at ease with the story of how her own lover was a human too, who shared Elena's concerns, but that, at the end of the day, love that deep can't be walked away from.

Just when Stefan and Elena get to talking, the sheriff barges into, discreetly vervains Lexi, and pulls her out of the Grill.

Lexi breaks free from the two cops restraining her, and almost gets to the sheriff, when Damon appears from the Grill, and stakes her.

Stefan, who had snuck out with Elena to help his best friend, had no time to do so, when his own brother kills her before his eyes.

In shock, and in tears, Stefan waits for things to cool, and heads to find Damon. Elena is worried of what he might do, and tries to calm him down, but it doesn't work, and he leaves.

Having no choice, she goes home.

XXX

"Lena? Hey," Emily softly calls from atop the stairs after exiting the bathroom. "What's wrong?"

Because Emily was the only person she could discuss these things with, and because Emily wouldn't let it go,

she told her.

XXXXX


	11. Chapter 11

Damon sighs tiredly as he put on a clean, non-ruined shirt in some haste to answer his ringing phone.

He picks it off his bed, sees who the caller is, and debates whether or not to actually pick up.

It had been a long day, all related to his plan of keeping the council off of his and Stefan's tracks.

The council, the group of people in Mystic Falls that knew about vampires, such as the sheriff, and Tyler's mom: Carol, and her husband: Richard.

He didn't know the rest, didn't even know the 'council' existed until around the time when he was trying to get his ring back from Stefan in the forest, and the two came across Logan Fell, who was hunting them down using the Gilbert watch as a supernatural compass.

Pretty far-fetched, right?

That's what he thought, but suddenly the members of the city had become a threat to Damon and Stefan, and Damon said he'd deal with it, after saving Stefan's life from Logan, by killing Logan.

Anyways, the council was beginning to suspect that, because the killings hadn't stopped, the vampire they're hunting might be someone that could somehow walk in daylight, and that their day-time Founder's Party wasn't enough to rule out who.

After supplying the sheriff with Zach's vervain, and she telling him this, Damon had to think of a way to avert all eyes away from him and Stefan,

and it just so happened that another vampire had walked into town that day:

Lexi.

He knew the consequence of killing her, yes,

but he also knew the consequence of being discovered.

The choice was obvious to him.

Expecting it, Damon gets attacked by Stefan, who spares his life as a 'getting even' for the time Damon had saved him from Logan.

As said, it had been a long day.

So why, oh why, was Emily Gilbert calling him up eleven that night?

"What?" he bitterly answered. For a few seconds, there was silence. Damon clenched his jaw irritably, but raised a brow in confusion, till her quiet voice spoke through.

_"…You know, I was gonna call you this morning…to thank you for what you did to my brother,"_ she says. Damon buffs air from his nose in a small release of tension. He would have somewhat appreciated the gratitude if it didn't sound like a preface to a scolding. He walked back to his side-table with a bourbon decanter atop and two glasses. He poured himself a drink as he asked:

"**And**?"

_"And then you go and do something like that,"_ she says with a tiresome tone. There it was, the thing he didn't think he'd want to hear. He was about to tell her off when she resumed: _"I just don't get it, Damon. If not out of sympathy, then I at least thought you'd be smart enough to realize that living with your brother isn't going to get any easier when you kill his best friend."_

"Not that it's any of your business, **Emily**, but what I did **was** for Stefan," he said, gulping down the contents of the cup as he paced his room.

_"What do you mean?" _she asked in a confused tone.

Okay, first of all, he didn't want to tell her. Second of all, she's the last person who should know that the sheriff actually has means of ridding the town of vampires.

After all, he'd once told her that there was no one she could run to, and he'd like for her to remain on that as a fact in case she got any ideas to rat him out.

"Like I said. It's none of your business. And, is this seriously why you called?!" he asks with bewildered features.

_"…I honestly don't know why I called," _she says.

"Well, then do us both a favor, and just don't," he says, about to end the pointless conversation. Emily gets the feeling he's about to hang up, and quickly says:

_"Damon, wait!"_

Had she been yelling or something, he probably would have hung up already, but he was curious.

"What?" he pushed.

_"…Thank you…For Jeremey," _she said.

He didn't want it to, but it did,

it did affect him.

You see, it wasn't like the usual 'thank you's he got, because most of what he did came with an ulterior motive: doing something and expecting something in return, even if the second party wasn't aware of that.

But, what he did for Jeremey…

Why did he do it?

He couldn't remember, and didn't care enough to try,

because a part of him knew why.

He hangs up then, and tosses the phone on the bed.

…

…The picture of Emily crouching next to the body, silent, with hands covered in blood.

It was the silence.

The fact that she didn't lash out, even when he flat out told her it was his fault above hers.

She just looked at him, and wordlessly left.

That was why.

XXX

The next day was a quiet one. Well, at least at first.

Emily went back to attending college, needing to get her mind off things.

The horrid feeling of guilt was still there every time she awoke from numb sleep, and she couldn't keep letting it control her life.

What's done is done. She had to try and move on.

When she came home, she met with Jeremy and Jenna, who were heading out to the Grill for lunch, and offered she come with them. Emily declined. She had a stack of homework to do, and wasn't going to get anything done in a crowded place that had nowhere to charge her laptop.

A short while later, she gets a text from Jeremy, telling her her boyfriend was there. She asked what boyfriend. He said Damon. Emily rolled her eyes, told him he wasn't her boyfriend, and told him to stop texting her, cause she was busy.

Not long after, Elena comes home with Bonnie.

Emily exits her room to greet them, and overhears Elena's words to her friend.

"It'll be okay, Bonnie," she said.

"Hey, guys," Emily called, smiling as she descended the stairs.

"Hey, Emily," Bonnie smiled back politely.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked the distraught-looking Bennet.

The two friends share a look before Elena, habitually, answers Emily.

"Damon's…threatening Bonnie," she says. Emily's brows raise in surprise.

"What?" she asks, confused.

"It's no big deal," Bonnie dismisses.

"Of course it is, Bonnie," Emily states. She faces Elena again, fairly displeased.

"Why?" she asks.

"He wants her necklace, but she doesn't have it any more. She threw it away," Elena answers.

"Wow. Wow. Slow down. Her necklace?"

The two share another look.

"It's okay. We can trust Emily. She knows all about Damon, and…other stuff," Elena says weirdly. Bonnie seems hesitant.

She then faces Emily,

and recalls the time the Gilbert had advised her to go visit her Grams, for vague reasons.

She assumes that somehow, Emily knows the truth about her,

and, sees no harm in telling her, like she had Elena.

"I'm a witch."

Emily takes this in,

then nods.

"I know," she says.

"You do?" Elena asks, taken aback.

"It was pretty obvious," she smirks lightly, infecting the two with humor. "Come on. I'll make some coffee, and you tell me what the deal with this necklace is. I wanna know why Damon's after you for it."

And so she tells her,

tells both of them all about the dreams she'd been having, about a ghost ironically also named Emily, but was similar in features to Bonnie, with an attire that looked to be centuries old.

The first time she dreamt of her, Emily said 'it's coming.' Bonnie was in a forest, and when she woke up, she was actually in a forest.

The second time ended up being in similar circumstances. Emily guided Bonnie to the Fell Church that had burned down, and said: 'this is where it started. And this is where it has to end,' then continued to ask Bonnie for help.

Bonnie then tells Emily Gilbert what Damon had said to her. He seemed to know who the ghost was, told Bonnie he wanted to help her, as opposed to waiting for the ghost to give him the necklace itself. He also told her to tell the ghost that 'a deal's a deal.'

With all the information given, Emily decides to confront Damon, if only to understand the situation more,

or maybe she was looking for excuses to see him.

"Emily, wait," Elena calls, following Emily, who was getting dressed, into her bedroom. "What makes you think he'll talk to you?" she warily asks. Emily simply knew he would, but didn't think that would convince Elena.

"I don't. I'm hoping he will," she answers instead, taking the clothes hanged on her wardrobe's door-knob and stripping.

"…Emily…I know you think…that a part of him is good," Elena starts. Emily sighs tiredly at her words as she pulled on her jeans. "Especially because…he helped Jeremy…But the truth is we don't know why he did that, and we don't know what he's capable of," she insists. Emily agreed with her on that, but her instinct opposed it. It was stupid, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

"I'm just gonna ask him some questions, Elena. I'll be back quick," she says, fixing on her black t-shirt and slinging on her bag.

Ask some questions, that's what she told herself she was going to do. Ask some questions, ask him to leave Bonnie alone…

But she also knew that those weren't the only reasons.

Emily heads down the stairs and Elena looks after her in concern. She descends the stairs with her, intent on calling Stefan the minuet she left.

If there was one thing neither Gilberts could do, it was to get their older sister to do something she didn't want to.

Bonnie watches from the kitchen warily, and when Emily is gone, Elena approaches her.

"Did she…did she just leave to **talk** to him?!" she asks in shock.

"Emily seems to think that negotiating with Damon is an option," Elena sighs, dialing Stefan's number.

"But…he hurt Caroline, and he **threatened** **me**! Why in the world would she think that?!"

Elena pauses and looks to Bonnie opposite her at the kitchen counter. "…Damon did something…He helped us with something…Granted he wouldn't have had to if the problem wasn't his fault…" Elena rolls her eyes, then they fix at an invisible spot as she considers something. "…I think…I think, in some crazy way…she might also…"

"…**Like** him?!" Bonnie exclaims. Elena exhales in tension, calling Stefan and placing the phone to her ear. "That's actually not very surprising," Bonnie suddenly says. Elena furrows her brows at that. "Remember her ex?" she smirks lightly.

Elena's eyes widen slightly.

Emily's ex.

The guy from last year, Alec.

First year college mystery guy, a flirt, the untrustworthy kind.

Emily was head over heels for him, till he left Mystic Falls just the year after.

Neither do the long-distance deal very well, and things weren't serious enough between them for them to try.

But Elena didn't see much to compare between Damon and Alec.

Maybe it was because Damon was a vampire! Who killed people!

_"Hey,"_ Stefan's voice tunes in, snapping her out of it.

XXX

Before driving off, Emily texted Jeremey to make sure that Damon was still at the Grill.

He was, and so that's where she went.

Upon entry, Emily spots him first, and doesn't notice Jenna, or Jeremy in the Grill. They don't notice her either. Jeremy had his nose in a book, and Jenna was flirting with his new history teacher: Alaric Saltzman.

"Richards. A coke please," she smiles at the bartender, sliding on the stool next to Damon. He faces her and raises a brow, tequila bottle in hand and a glass.

"Are you stalking me, Gilbert?" he asks as Richards slides a glass towards her and she hands him pay with a quiet thank you.

"Getting rid of me is easy, Damon. Just stop harassing everyone I know," she says, looking at the ice-filled glass with interest. Damon noted she was avoiding eye-contact with him.

"I'd love to do that, Emily. If they stopped getting in my way. Your little witch friend has my necklace," he irritably tells. She smirks at that.

"Okay, A. A guy wearing a necklace is a real turn-off," he smirks at that too. "and B…how do you know what she is?" she finally catches his gaze. Damon turns away.

"Unless you're offering to get me that necklace, we got nothing to talk about," he tiredly says, refusing to confess.

She is somewhat disappointed with his attitude. He was so much more open before she found out what he was.

Well, she guessed it wasn't a matter of being open, more like pretending. So was this the real him? A non-social, bitter guy?

"Why do you want it?" she asks.

"That's none of your business," he plainly retorts. She squints her eyes at him.

"It is, actually," she says. He turns at her confident tone as though in mock. "Considering **what** it is, I'm concerned with what you want it for, Damon."

What he wanted it for.

There's only ever been one main goal since he'd come to Mystic Falls.

"You have no **idea** what it is, Emily, so stop pretending like you do," he says.

"Well, why don't you enlighten me. It's not like you have anyone else to talk to," she smirks sarcastically.

"Says the vampire-killing lone-wolf," he shoots back in amusement. Her humor fades away, and heart sinks in her chest.

"That's not funny," she says, breaking eye-contact.

He was getting tired of being affected by her sorrow. She needed to toughen up, and quit being such a baby.

"No, you know what is? How pathetic it is," her eyes snap to his again in anger, "that you're giving so much crap about someone as worthless as a junkie," he quietly, harshly states.

"As opposed to you turning her for feeling sorry for her?!" she retorts just as quietly, just as harshly.

Neither were aware how much closer they'd gotten to each other as the argument grew heated.

Damon was about to negate her statement, when someone cut in.

"Emily," Stefan calls.

Both turn to face him, and Damon quickly turns away irritably at his presence.

He walks up to them.

"Mind if I talk to my brother," he signals an obvious 'leave' with his eyes. Emily is certain Elena had called him. She exhales in a release of tension.

Stefan then gives her an assuring nod, and she realizes he is here for the same reasons.

She nods, and gets to her feet. "Knock yourself out," she picks up her coke and walks away. Damon glances at her departure, and awaits Stefan's approach.

It would be a long night.

"Hey," Emily greets her brother, whom she'd spotted in a booth.

"Hey. You came," he states.

"Yep. Damon's an ass," she tiredly says, picking at Jeremy's fries.

"Yeah? What'd he do?" he asks, turning away from his homework, relieved to catch a break.

"He's acting all mean and ruthless. Thinks it's cool," she answers tiredly, sipping her coke.

"What'd he do?" Jeremy pushes. Emily faces him. Obviously, she couldn't tell him.

"Forget it. What I really wanna know, is what Jenna is doing with that dude," Emily smirks, pointing at the laughing pair far off.

"Ho, ho. That. He's my new history teacher. Mister Saltzman."

"**Saltz**man? Seriously?" Emily smirks.

"Haha. Yeah, I know. But he's really cool. Wants to help me get my grades up. Told me to write an article about a local topic, non-internet and stuff. Jenna said I should look at all of dad's history stuff in the closet," he said.

Emily's eyes widen slightly in consideration.

Dad's stuff was the reason she knew about the other world…

It seemed Damon, Stefan, and witches had suddenly become a part of their life…

Maybe Jeremy finding out was a good thing, and maybe it wasn't…She decided to leave it to how much he starts believing those books.

She couldn't decide whether keeping him in the dark was better, or if keeping him aware was safer.

She couldn't decide.

XXXXX


	12. Chapter 12

A short while later, Emily and Jeremy head home. Upon nearing the front door, they notice the door knob shaking, and Elena's muffled voice from within in: _"It's not opening…" _ Emily and Jeremy share weird look as Emily approaches the door, puts in the key, and opens it.

Opposite her were Caroline and Elena, who gasp in shock. "Wow!" Jeremy calls, then pushes past them and heads inside. Breathing heavily, Caroline looks at Elena and shakes her head.

"I'm out of here," she says, and rushes past Emily, who in turn faces her sibling as well.

"Uhhh, what's going on?" she asks.

XXX

In the car and on their way to the Fell's Church, Emily drives as Elena explains to Stefan through the phone what she'd said to her sister before leaving. "It's Bonnie…Emily's possessing her." Her sister, Emily, feels weird about her name being used to refer to an old dead witch possessing their other witch friend! "She said something…She said: 'I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed.' And then she just left!...She's headed to Fell's Church. We-…"

Stefan seems to have said something, then Elena hangs up, and speaks to Emily: "He says he'll find her."

"What the hell does Damon want with that necklace?!" Emily asks irritably.

"When you asked him, did he tell you anything?" Elena retorts.

"I didn't get the chance, because **someone** called up Stefan to interfere!" Emily scolds.

"What was I **supposed **to do, Emily?! Damon can't be trusted; was I supposed to just-"

"You were supposed to **trust** me, Elena!"

"I **do** trust you; it's **him** I don't trust!"

"Just…forget it. We need to find Bonnie before she does something stupid."

Just then, she skids to a stop where the church would be and they'd have to walk the rest of the way. Emily picks up her bag and exits the car, master-locking it after Elena followed, and they started into the woods.

What they arrive to was far from what either of them expected.

There, in a circle of fire, stood Bonnie, dangling the cursed jewel in her hand.

The scene looked horrific.

"Bonnie!" exclaimed Elena, rushing forward.

"Elena, no!" shouted Emily as she hasted after her, but with no need, for Stefan was there, and he quickly kept Elena from moving further.

Everyone froze when Damon shouted: "NOOOO!" and they all turned to see Bonnie toss the necklace into the air, it exploding into sparks of fire, and dissipating…into nothing.

The fire quickly dies afterwards, and Bonnie blinks rapidly, free from her possession,

but after what?

Just when she is no longer safe behind her magic, Damon launches at her. She screams as he mercilessly sinks his teeth into her neck, and everyone jumps in panic.

Without wasting time, Stefan quickly zoomed forward and tore Damon away from the Bennet.

Bonnie collapses onto the ground as Emily and Elena rush forward to her side. Stefan falls beside her and places his ear to her chest. Seeming satisfied, Stefan faces the siblings and says: "She's alive, but barely," he faces her again. "I can save her." He bites into his wrist and Emily studies what he's doing in bewilderment. Elena, all worked up, faces Damon, who stood idly by, and shoots him a dirty look.

Emily watches as Stefan opens Bonnie's mouth and puts his bleeding wrist between her lips. The Bennet gasps at the intrusion, and Emily's eyes go wide as he seemed to be feeding her his blood. "What are you doing?" she asks warily.

"I'm healing her," he answers. Emily takes this in, and is more so shocked as she watches Bonnie's wounded neck knit back together, and heal.

"Her neck," utters Elena with just as much disbelief. "It's healing."

As she was crouched on the floor and watching, Emily caught sight of Damon.

Nothing grasped her attention more than the look on his face.

A man in despair.

Then, he caught her gaze, looked pleadingly into her eyes…

and zoomed away.

XXX

Stefan had left to find Damon while Emily and Elena guided Bonnie to the car. They were in the process of calming her down, and Elena promising to tell her everything, when Stefan returned.

Without waiting, and as Elena assured Bonnie that Stefan was no harm, Emily approached him.

"Stefan," he faces her. "I need you to explain to me what the hell that was all about," she sternly says. Stefan visually tenses.

"It doesn't matter. It's over," he says.

"I don't care. I wanna know," she insists.

The look on Damon's face demanded an explanation.

Stefan studies her for a moment, and refrains from asking why.

Whatever it was between Damon and Emily would soon be over anyways, as he and his brother were leaving.

He saw no harm in telling her.

"He was trying to get Katherine back," he starts. Just then, Elena approaches them, and quiets upon hearing the topic. She crosses her arms and listens.

"But I thought she was dead," Emily says in confusion.

"I did too. But, apparently, Damon struck a deal with Emily Bennet to save her in exchange for keeping her children alive," he explains.

Emily takes this in.

Wow.

All the trouble to go through…for someone he loved.

She felt her heart react with him in sympathy.

Stefan continued.

"But in order to do that, she had to save every vampire in that church. Getting Katherine back…means bringing them all back…and considering what Mystic Falls had done to them…they wouldn't be very forgiving…"

The Gilberts process Stefan's story, and realize the threat.

"But he was gonna do it anyways, and that's why Emily destroyed the necklace," Elena exhales menacingly. Emily feels strangely indifferent to the situation, actually about to say that she 'didn't' even though they weren't referring to her.

"Look, it's over now, and…we're both, leaving…for good," he says. Emily's eyes snaps at him, and Elena's brows furrow as she frowns.

"What? But…Look, I'm sorry, Stefan. I thought that I couldn't be with you, but I can. You don't have to push me away. I can do this," she takes hold of his hands, smiling genuinely. Stefan eyes her adoringly, tilting his head.

"I can't," he softly says. The Gilberts seem confused by this. He keeps his eyes fixed on Elena. "I…I have to leave, Elena. Too many people have died. Too much has happened."

_'He's right,' _thinks Emily with sad acceptance.

What was she expecting?

This was the only way this would end.

Elena wasn't having it though.

"What? No! I know you think you're protecting me, but-"

"I have to. Coming home was...it was a mistake. I can't be a part of your life anymore," he says.

Elena falls silent, her gaze descending to the ground. Stefan glances at Emily.

She gives him an approving nod.

This was the right thing to do.

"Don't go Stefan. Please...You don't have to. This is your home. Please, don't go," Elena breathes, tears stinging her sad eyes. Emily puts a hand on her soldier.

"Elena," she calls, causing the younger Gilbert to face her. Emily forces on a small smile. "It's for the best," she says.

"…But…" Elena faces Stefan again, then Emily in dire confusion. Stefan places a hand on her cheek. He gives her one last smile, before saying:

"Goodbye, Elena…"

XXX

It had been a long night that one.

Telling Bonnie the truth, helping Elena with what happened with Stefan.

A very long night.

Bonnie stayed over, and in her own room, Emily herself tried to process what the Salvatores leaving meant.

She couldn't, at least not right now.

She felt too indifferent to point at an advantage or a problem.

A part of her did think it was good she felt that way, and a part of her thought it was just a matter of time before she started randomly recalling her past encounters

with the Salvatore brothers.

XXXXX


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, the Gilberts attempt to get on with their lives like nothing had happened. They get dressed and head for school; college for Emily, work for Jenna.

It started then, just like Emily was worried. In the middle of a lecture, and all her mind I concerned with was everything that had happened. From meeting Damon, to thinking he was a nice guy, to finding out he's a two-faced ass, to discovering his vampirism!

to hearing about Katherine, and looking at him…differently…**actually** feeling sorry for him…

to suddenly accepting that he…was gone…

that, just like that, the supernatural chapter of her life…was over…

…Right?

…

Wrong.

It was just begging…

XXX

"But I don't really like that professor. She's really…vague when-" the girl to Emily's side talked on, and the Gilbert was barely paying her much interest as she nodded along,

then froze in her tracks.

Near her parked car,

stood Damon.

He smirked at her from the distance, arms crossed as he leaned back against her 2014 grey Nissan Versa.

"Oh my god, who is that by your car?" the girl to her side asked.

Emily ignored her completely as she stormed forward to face the persistent vampire at the campus outdoor garage.

Students nearby continued to steal glances at the hottie the quiet Gilbert somehow seemed acquainted with.

It had only been two days, so it wasn't all that shocking to see him.

The only thing that scared Emily

was the sense of excitement she was feeling

for seeing him again.

"Mm, Gilbert. You're looking tasty," he looked her up and down, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. She was wearing a red, above the knee, casual dress and a complimenting black button up left open and tied at the tips. The fact that her neck and chest were exposed was what made Damon seem threatening,

in a way she hated herself for liking.

She pulled her purse properly onto her shoulder and crossed her arms defensively. "What are you doing here?" she asked, more quietly than she'd expected.

Damon pushed off her car and took a step towards her, leaving only a foot's distance between them and causing her to glance away,

anywhere but into his eyes.

"Don't tell me you haven't missed me," he knowingly said. She found she was speechless to that, as a stupid part of her wanted to say she did. She quickly had to find a counter, despite visually tensing. He could hear her heartbeat.

"I thought you were leaving," she said.

"Would you have missed me if I did?"

"Damon," she sighed tiredly, finally looking him in the eye.

He didn't know why he liked to tease her so much, and it annoyed him, the fact that his heart pinched when he caught her soft gaze.

Now it was his turn to look away.

"I need your help," he tilted his head. Emily raised a non-expecting brow.

"With?" she asked.

"With a little vampire problem," he smirked, looking at her and speaking in a low tone. Both her brows rise at that.

"Is that a joke?" she retorted.

"Nope. Open her up," he slaps her car's roof. "And I'll tell you inside," he said. Emily eyed him warily. "Oh, come on, Em. I don't bite. Unless you ask me to," he winks at her, causing her eyes to widen and her mouth to part. She scoffs and looks away, then at him again.

"I have pencils in my bag. Sharp," she says. Damon laughs at the unexpected threat as Emily unlocked the car and rounded it to enter.

XXX

"Head to the Mystic Grill," he says as she starts the car. The fact that Damon freaking Salvatore, hottie/vampire, was with her in her car was very unnerving. She snaps out of it and focuses on what he'd said, her bag open in her lap just for caution.

"Why?" she asks as she drives out of parking and onto the road. It was around noon that day.

"Okay. So. New vampire in town. We need to find it," he says.

"How do you know there's another vampire in town? Did you turn someone?!" she glares at him.

"Hah. No. Which, by the way, isn't something that should put you at ease, cause, see, now we have no idea who it could be," he explains.

"Okay, so how do you expect me to help you find whoever it is?" she asks.

"Well. You're human. Which means…" he pushes his hand into his pocket, and brings something out. "You can use this," he holds it out to her, and she takes it. Her eyes widen.

"This is the Gilbert watch!" she exclaims. "I gave this to Jeremy!" she glares heatedly at Damon, a truly hostile look in her eyes that often showed when her family was involved.

"Relax, tiger. I got it off of Logan Fell. Maybe your brother lost it," he says. She processes this.

"How did you…Why did Logan have it?" she asks, tossing it onto the dashboard and focusing on the road. Damon sighs.

"I'm not…very comfortable telling you," he gives with a humorous tone. Emily cocks a brow at him. "Point is. He was hunting us with it a couple weeks back. I killed him, and I got it."

"A couple weeks? I just saw him yesterday," Emily says. Damon's eyes widen.

"What?" he asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, he came over, and kept asking Jenna to…" she drifts off, and drives to stop at the side.

"Asked what?" Damon pushes.

"To be invited in," Emily faces him, a dread-filled look on her face. Damon's fixes in realization. His gaze drifts.

"Well. Wasn't expecting that."

"Oh my god," Emily breathes. She scours through her bag and brings out her phone, speed-dialing Jenna.

"What are you d-" Emily places a hand on his shoulder to quiet him as she answers.

"Hey, Jenna," she removes her hand and Damon listens in on the conversation.

_"Hey. What's up? Done with the lectures?" _she asks.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, listen…Did Logan drop by again?"

_"Uh, I'm at work, so…no. Why?"_

Emily notices Damon trying to tell her something beside her, and furrows her brows at him. He seemed to be referring to Jenna in urgency, and Emily shakes her head in confusion, then says: "I'm gonna call you back." She hangs up, and faces him. "What?" she asks irritably.

"If she can get him to the house, I can take care of it," Damon says.

"Uh, no way. I'm not using Jenna as bait!" Emily states. Damon rolls his eyes.

"She already is. Look, Logan is a fresh vampire, meaning his emotions are all over the place, and if Jenna is what he wants, he'll keep coming back, or worse. Maybe he'll pay her a visit at work, and ask her out for **lunch**," Damon smiles creepily. Emily's eyes widen, catching his meaning.

"Alright, fine…I'll see what I can do," she says.

"Good. Before he comes over, call me, and I'll be there. I'll take care of him," Damon opens the car door, and leans over to take the Gilbert watch from the dashboard.

"Wow, hey!" she calls. He faces her with one leg out the door and the watch in hand. "That isn't yours."

"Finders keepers," he smirks.

"Damon! It's my brother's! What do you want it for anyways?!" she asks. Damon puts his leg back in and closes the door.

"It's a supernatural-detector," he pops it open, revealing its inner workings transformed into a golden compass, pointing at himself. She notes this, and asks:

"Can you even use it?"

"No. That's why I came to you, but now we don't need it," he opens the door again.

"Wait!" He rolls his eyes.

"What?" he irritably asks.

"Since you can't use it, don't you think I should have it?"

"I knew you'd say that. Fine. But, if I ever need it, I'm taking you with it," he winks again. She rolls her eyes and snatches it from him. He steps out. "Bye," he muses, closes the door, and zooms away before her eyes.

XXX

Elena arrives home later and tells Emily that Stefan had been keeping an eye on her because of the 'vampire' in town.

"Yeah. I know," Emily replies as she rummaged the fridge, then came out with ingredients for a sandwich.

"You **know**?" Elena asks in confusion from the counter. "How?"

With her back to her sister as she washed a tomato at the sink, Emily decided to avoid the truth. "Stefan told me," she says.

Telling Elena about Damon didn't sound like a good idea to her. Maybe it was because neither Elena nor Stefan liked Damon.

Maybe she didn't want her sister to get the wrong idea about them,

as if she hadn't already.

"He did?" Elena retorts.

"Yeah," Emily replies with a straight face as she turned back to the counter.

"When?"

"He called me. Look," she faced Elena finally. "Point is. Just stay in the house until…" she was gonna say 'we take care of it,' then refrained, "it's taken care of."

Elena felt something was off, but couldn't tell for sure, so she left it at that.

XXX

Exiting the bathroom in her room that afternoon, Emily stumbles on her feet and gasps, slapping a hand on her chest. "Holy shit!" she breathes, attempting to calm herself at the fact that it was only Damon, who'd popped into her bedroom from the window.

"Jumpy, are we?" he tilts his head at her and smirks.

"Maybe if people don't magically appear in my bedroom!" she whisper-shouts. He mimics her tone as he struts towards her.

"Maybe if you took that into consideration, being in a town full of vampires, you wouldn't be so surprise," he widens his eyes for emphasize. "Did she call him?" he gets to the point.

"I called him. From her phone," she glances at her bedside table, where the phone was. Damon follows her gaze as she continues: "I told him that I thought he and Jenna should get back together, and that he should come over so they could talk things out."

"Ooh, Emily knows how to tell a story. Maybe I shouldn't believe everything you say," he smirks. She forces on an obviously fake smile.

"Maybe you shouldn't," she walks past him, to her window, and sits at the window seat, gazing out warily. Damon is about to follow suit, then decides to close the light first. She turns at the darkness and faces him in surprise as he approaches her.

"Don't want him to spot us," he explains as he sat opposite her and stalked the front street with her.

A few moments of silence passed as they just sat in the dim widow light, waiting.

Thoughts began to seep through, and soon, there was something on each of their minds.

Damon was wondering who had turned Logan. Who had fed Logan vampire blood before Damon killed him? Being a vampire hunter, Damon didn't think Logan would drink it willingly, or maybe he would.

While Damon was fussing over who else posed a threat in town,

Emily

was thinking about him.

It was another one of those moments when everything that had happened came back in pieces,

and she remembered the last time she'd seen him,

the look on his face,

that broken look.

And here he sat opposite her, perfectly fine,

or was he?

"A picture would last longer, you know," he smirks, facing her. She quickly sets her gaze low.

"No, I just…" she squints her eyes at him in assessment. "Are you okay?" she asks.

Damon is extremely confused by her question.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I mean," she pushes a strand of her loose her behind her ear, looking to her hands before locking eyes with his again. "With what happened…With the necklace…Katherine," she explains.

Damon's eyes widen, not as much in realization, as it was in the fact that Emily seemed to be…

sympathizing with him.

She witnessed first-hand as sorrow consumed his face wholly, and it actually hurt to see.

It was hard to recall the fact that Damon would have unleashed a squad of vampires into the town had he managed to get what he wanted,

it was hard to blame him for much of anything,

when he looked like that.

Feeling his chest ache, Damon forced his mind out of the dull memory and faced the window with a scowl. "I'm fine, and don't act like we're friends, Emily. Don't act like you care," he firmly says, harshly, refusing her eyes. Emily frowned at his tone. She wanted to say: 'I do care,' but refrained. Only, she couldn't keep her mouth shut about it.

"It's sad that any nice thing a person says to you, you find hard to swallow," she says. He turns irritably to her then. "And, you're right," she eyes the glass, "I shouldn't care," she remembered then, "because getting what you want means putting my town, my family, in danger," she says. Damon eyed her quizzically. She faced him. "Stefan told me that getting Katherine back means getting all the vampires that were saved with her too." Damon clenches his jaw from tension.

"It's your mistake to think I care," he retorts.

"Maybe not about me." He cocks a brow at her suddenly soft tone and what she'd said. She gulps, her mind stating: _'that came out wrong.'_ "But you do care. The last thing you are, is void of emotions," she said in mock. And though that normally wouldn't be considered an insult, to Damon, it was, and she knew that was how he'd see it. He glared at her, the feeling of his exposure all too annoying.

He is snapped out of it when he hears footsteps on the front porch. He faces the window and says: "He's here." Emily's eyes widen in fear. She rises to her feet.

"What do we do?" she asks.

"You, don't do anything," he says, opening her window and disappearing out.

She thought she would never get used to their super speed.

Just when Logan is about to knock on the front door, Damon appears behind him,

and snaps his neck.

Emily watches from the window as Damon approaches his car with Logan's unconscious body over his shoulder. He pops open the trunk, and throws Logan ungracefully into it, then closes it.

He catches sight of Emily through the window,

and sighs from an unknown form of tension.

Why were conversations with her so exhausting?

He looks away, gets into his car, and leaves.

XXXXX


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey, Lena. What's up?" Emily answers her sister a while later.

_"Emily, I…I need you to come pick me up. I'm…at the road near Stefan's place, and I…I," _her sister sounded to be in tears.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" Emily shuts her laptop screen and straightens on her bed.

_ "It's…I, I was at Stefan's, and I found, a picture!"_ she gasps and cries some more, causing her sister's chest to ache. _"Of Katherine. And! She looks __**just**__ like me, Emily! She looks __**exactly**__ like me! She's __**me**__!"_ Emily's eyes widen at what she was being told, rising from her bed.

"Okay. Okay. Just calm down, okay? I'm on my way."

Quickly getting dressed, Emily treks down the stairs. "Hey, where are you going?!" Jenna asks in bewilderment from the couch opposite the tv.

"To pick up Elena," Emily shortly answers before rushing out.

Ten minutes on the road, and in a fairly anxious state,

Emily is taken off guard, when, out of nowhere,

a figure appears in front of the car.

…It is too late for her to avoid collision,

the vehicle trips, and flips over,

rolling against the ground several times before taking a hard halt, upside down.

Emily's head finally stops spinning, and her vision slowly fixes on the reverted scene. Her chest is heavy, and she is coughing for breath. She is eyeing around frantically, and catches sight of the figure, misshaped on the ground, and broken at mad angles.

Then, he moves.

His bones sickly snap back into place,

and he gets to his feet.

Emily's breathing quickens as she aims for her seatbelt in an attempt to break free and bolt for it.

The man remade,

approaches her…

Damon, who was nearby, waiting for a Logan Fell that never showed up,

he hears the commotion, and rushes over to investigate.

He recognizes the car, and catches sight of the hooded man approaching it.

The man seems to have spotted him, and zoomed away with what was unmistakably vampire speed.

Damon is snapped out of it when he hears the moan of pain from within the totaled car. He rushes forward and bends down to catch sight of the driver.

It was definitely Emily, a discovery that greatly disturbs Damon, filling him to the prim with concern.

"Aah!" she screams, then breathes sharply upon acknowledging the face before her.

"How ya doin' in there?" he asks sarcastically, masking his worry.

"Damon," she utters in relief, eyeing him with fear still in her eyes. He avoids her gaze and assesses her situation.

"You look stuck," he states.

"It's my seatbelt. I can't get it!" she say in a panicked tone as he rises and rips open the door, shushing her softly.

"Let me get you out of there," he says, kneeling down again. "I want you to put your hands on the roof," he instructs calmly. Emily slowly complies. "Just like that," he nods. "You ready? One. Two," he grabs the belt, and on three, he tears it open. Emily falls loose, and Damon quickly places his hands beneath her. "I got you." He starts to pull her out slowly, then picks her up bridal-style. "Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?" his questions came faster than he meant, he was more worked up than he wanted to be. Emily slowly shakes her head in response. He nods as he looks her over, and notices the cut on her forehead, then carefully tries to put her on her feet, but she slips, and nearly falls again. Damon's grip on her tightens securely. "Whoa." Her eyes shut. "You're fading fast. Emily," Damon calls. She momentarily opens them and hums in reply. "Emily. Look at me," Damon supports her head and touches her cheek, his thumb sliding down to her lips. "Focus. Look at me," she finally does. "Ok."

"I…I need to get to Elena. She's waiting," Emily says semi-consciously, just before completely collapsing.

XXX

_"Where are you?" _Stefan asks Damon through the phone.

"I'm headed out of town. Why?" Damon answers from behind the driver's seat in his car, a passed out Emily beside him.

_"What happened with Logan?"_ Damon frowns at the question.

What happened with Logan?

Let's see. Damon got on the road when he heard ruckus in his trunk, parked the car, injected Logan with vervain to weaken him, and started interrogating him right after sending the sheriff his coordinates.

Damon insisted on knowing who had turned Logan, and Logan insisted he had no idea.

Finding no use for Logan alive, Damon was near ending him when he suddenly blabbered out that there was another way to get in the tomb under the church,

to get to her.

Their conversation is cut short when Damon hears the sheriff's car fast approaching. He gets Logan to punch him and escape to make the runaway look convincing for Liz.

He and Logan were to meet at the church, but Logan never showed up. Then Damon got a call from Liz, thanking him for killing Logan,

even though he didn't.

They found his body by the old Fell warehouse, where he'd been hoarding victims, and disposed of him.

…Who killed him?!

That was when he heard Emily's car, and had to deal with that instead.

"Took care of it. Like I said I would," Damon answers Stefan, who then sighs shakily from the other end of the line. Damon's brows furrow. "What's the matter with you?" he asks curiously.

_"…Elena found out…about Katherine…that she looks like her,"_ he hesitantly replied. Damon's eyes widen.

Then, he smirks.

He glances at the Gilbert's sister beside him.

"Well, that must have been ugly. Can't wait to see what Emily'll do when she sees Elena," he grins.

_ "What are you talking about?"_ Stefan warily asks.

"Well," his grin melts. "It **is** getting annoying, but I' pretty sure there is more than one vampire in town. One of them almost attacked Emily last night. Her car got totaled, but I managed to get to her before whoever it was saw me and ran off," he explains. Stefan sighs from heavy tension.

_"Is she okay?"_ Damon glances at her again with furrowed brows.

"I don't know. She hasn't woken up yet. I don't think it's anything serious though."

_"She's with __**you**__?"_

"Yep."

_"Did you say you were heading out of town?!"_

"Just for a bit. Something I need to check."

_"And you took her __**with**__ you."_

"She looked like she could use a break. Besides. Means she's safe."

_"…Damon…Why do you care if she's safe or not?"_ Damon pulls a weird face.

"I **don't**," he says confidently. Obviously, Stefan doesn't buy it.

_"Damon. Bring her back. Does her family know she's with you?"_

"She can tell them when she wakes up. I'd love to stay and chat but…I simply don't want to," Damon smiles coyly. "So: bye," he hangs up and throws the phone onto the dashboard. He unintentionally glances at Emily again, momentarily wishing he'd just driven her back home.

No turning back now.

XXX

About an hour later, she finally wakes up.

Damon notices, and waits for her to come to her senses as she took in the scene outside the window in certain confusion, before facing him.

"Damon," she acknowledges, somewhat relaxing.

"Morning," he smiles coyly. _'Morning?'_ she wondered, looking at her exteriors again.

It was indeed, morning. The sun had just started rising. They seemed to be out of town, surrounded by farm-lands and trees.

"Where…are we?" she faces him again.

"Georgia," he replies, facing the road again. Her eyes widen.

"What? Are you serious?" she asks warily.

"Very," he smirks. Her eyes further widen.

"Damon!" she exclaims. "What? Okay. Stop. Just. Stop for a minute," she tells. Damon rolls his eyes.

"Fine," he pulls over.

She unbuckles her seatbelt and climbs out of the car. The air outside was swift, and warm. The view was a sight for sore eyes; the greenery, the country fencing, the barn nearby. She felt weak though; worn out. She rests a hand on the door while the other buried into her hair as she carefully rubbed her head. "Ow," she groaned.

"You okay?" he asks. Emily looks up to find him right beside her, miniature concern evident in his eyes. She nods.

"I'm fine. Wha…What happened? That…guy?" Damon looks out into the horizon.

"No idea. Yet," he answers. Emily notices her surroundings again. She turns to Damon with a hint of frustration.

"Damon. What are we doing here? You took me out of town!"

"Relax. I'll take you back. Soon as I get what I need."

"Which is?"

"Information from someone. Look. Consider it a day off from…everything…College. Family drama."

"My family. Do…Do they know where I am?"

Damon squints his eyes uncomfortably.

"Well…"

"Damon!"

"Okay, so Stefan knows. Your sister's been calling, and your aunt. I was kinda worried if I picked up the phone, Elena would freak, so **you** texted her that you were okay, and that you'd be back at the end of the day," he smiles. She is not pleased.

"Damon. Give me my phone," she demanded. He grins and nears her, resting his arm on the top of his car.

"Or what?" he teases.

"Damon," she whines tiredly.

"_Damon_," he pouts in imitation. She raises a non-amused brow and crosses her arms. "Ooh. Intimidating."

"Damon. Seriously. I'm too tired to play."

"Play? Sounds dirty," he grins. Emily looks away tiredly. Damon rolls his eyes. "Oh, alright. Fine. Here," he fishes it out of his pocket and hands it to her. "Prepare for a headache," he warns in sarcasm. She snatches it from him and walks a few feet past him as she dialed Elena. Damon smirked and leaned against the car, arms crossed and listening in on the conversation.

_"Emily! Is that you?!"_

"Yeah, Elena. It's me," Emily smiles lightly.

_"Oh thank god! It's been __**four**__ hours! I was so worried! Where are you? Why weren't you answering your phone?! Wh-"_

"I know. I'm sorry. Something happened. I'll explain when I get back."

_"Get back from where? Where are you?"_

"I'm…" _'In Georgia? That's a bad idea,'_ "with Damon." _'Shit. That wasn't better,'_ Emily winces.

_"What?! What are you __**doing**__?!"_ Elena angrily asked. Emily hears Damon chuckle and turns to glare at him. She sighs and decides to explain.

"There was…a vampire, and he almost attacked me. Damon saved me," she quietly says, feeling her stomach churn at that nervously,

as though she'd just acknowledged that he did.

Damon mouths her a 'you're welcome' humorously. She ignores him as she resumes. "We'll be back soon."

_"Back from where?" _Emily didn't want to tell her, because a) she knew Elena would freak out, b) she didn't entirely know why they were in Georgia, and not giving Elena a reason wasn't better, c) …it's just a bad idea.

"Just tell Jenna I stayed over at Roxane's. I gotta go."

_"Wait. But-"_

"Elena. I'll call you later. Okay?"

_"…Fine…Be careful. Please."_

"I will," she hangs up.

"Let's go," Damon rounded his car and beckoned from the driver's seat. Emily sighed once more and followed.

"Here," he hands her a coffee as she buckles up. "Figured you could use this," he says.

"Thanks," she takes it, the warm foam cup blissful between her chilled hands. She takes a sip. It's bitter without milk, but anythin will do. "So…How long? For us to get…wherever, and get back? Where are we going, anyways?" she asks.

"We're going to a little place right outside of Atlanta. And, what's the rush, Em? So what if you're away for a couple of hours? The world won't fall apart. Remember when you told me oh how you dreamed of leaving town?" he sarcastically said.

"Uh, not like this. Besides. I'm surprised you remember that, considering you were just using me to get to Stefan," she shoots back.

"Aw. You're just upset because you found out I didn't actually wanna be your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?! The guy hung up on the ex who dated both him **and **his brother at the **same** time?! No thank you," she retorts. Damon cocks a brows and shoots her a glare. She realized she was harsh and that she'd hit a nerve. She inhales from tension. "Look, I'm sorry. Alright? I didn't mean that. You just have a habit of making people yell, Damon!" she defends. He eases up.

"Hmph. You should see how that works in bed," he smirks. She cringes.

"You're disgusting, you know that, right?" He grins.

XXXXX


	15. Chapter 15

It's a peaceful while into the car ride, save Damon's radio, when Emily's stomach suddenly growls in hunger. It's not too loud, but Damon's heightened hearing catches it. "Ooh. Looks like the beast has awoken," he notes sarcastically. Emily faces him with furrowed brows, then acknowledges what he's referring to.

"Well, the place you're taking us better have food, Damon. Hungry me isn't this quiet in a car ride."

"Hehe. Yeah. Don't worry. We'll get you something."

The music from the radio tunes in to Emily's ears again. It was like one annoying song after the other. Now, On A Mission by The Dandelions was playing, and Emily turned to Damon. "Mind if I turn down the radio?" she requests.

"It's cute that you're asking for permission," he smirks, then picks up his phone that was connected to the radio. He opens it and hands her his online music player. "Here. Knock yourself out." She refrained from 'politely' refusing, lest he mock her again, so she decided to take advantage of the offer. She turned on something more to her liking. Chill Out by Santana. Damon smirked again. "Whoa, Emily Gilbert. You've got taste," he grinned. She smirked as well, and put his phone down, facing the window with head thrown back.

Soon enough, they drive into a small town.

"Okay. Here we are," Damon pulls over.

"Seriously? A bar?" Emily asks impatiently. He drove all the way out there for a drink? She then recalled what he'd told her: 'information from someone.'

"Yep," Damon opens the door and exits. Emily sighs and follows after him.

They walk through the heavy wooden doors, into the high-ceiling, obviously popular, brick building. Inside, the bartender, a dark, curly haired woman, does a double-take looking at them. "No. No, it can't be," she says. "Damon?" she acknowledges, then hauls herself onto the ebony, ceramic counter and slides out to face the Salvatore. She is incredibly tall, much taller than Damon himself. "My honey pie," she comments just before grabbing his face and crashing her lips into his. Emily's eyes widen, taken-aback by the unexpected sight. They kiss for about a minute before they finally stop, around the time Emily was certain she would hurl.

"Mm, how you doing, Bree?" Damon asks.

"How am I doing? Haha!" she rounds the bar and grabs a bottle as Damon slides onto a stool. Emily follows, still trying to erase the prior disturbing picture from her mind, and fanning the heat in her heart. Bree raises the bottle as she set two shot glasses opposite Emily and Damon, and several more around. She spoke to the crowd. "Listen up everybody!" she called as she started pouring. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul," Emily's brows raised again, "destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!" _'Okay. What the fuck?'_ she thought. "Drink up!" Everyone does, including Emily, who quickly grabs the glass and downs all of its contents. They go down burning, and she hisses.

"Woo. Easy there," Damon comments from beside her. He's the reason she's drinking, so she doesn't face him. Bree finally focuses on the pair, and turns to Emily.

"So, how'd he rope you in?" she asks, refilling Emily's glass. Emily acknowledges the question, then chuckles lightly.

"Yeah. No," she shakes her head. Damon grins, so does Bree.

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride," she retorts. Emily's eyes widen in bewilderment, shaking away the implied image from her thoughts.

"Right. Like I had a choice," she smiles sarcastically at Damon, who is smirking in amusement at her.

"Oh? What happened to 'Oh, Elena. Damon saved my life!'" he says squeakily.

"I **knew** you wouldn't let that go," Emily shakes her head, turning away but smiling still. Damon chuckles. She faces him again. "Didn't you say we were here for 'information?'" she makes quotes in the air. Damon claps the counter.

"Right. Bree. Can we have two of those delicious burgers of yours, while you and I talk?" he suggests.

"Sure," she nods. She heads into the bar and makes the order, then exits and walks to a table far off. Damon nears Emily, and downs her drink.

"I'll be right back," he says, before following after the bartender. Emily sighs tiredly. A part of her wanted to know what they were talking about, but apparently that wasn't an option.

For a few minutes, she sat there, before her phone rung. Jenna. "Hey, Jenna…I know. I'm sorry I didn't call…Yeah, I was, then, uh, Roxane was having a problem, and I went over to hers. Elena told me she'd head home herself, and then it just got really late, so I stayed over, and decided to head to college next thing in the morning…I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again…Yeah. I'm fine. I'll be home soon…Okay. Bye," she hangs up, just as Damon starts walking towards her again. He slides on the stool next to her with a deep frown on his face. "What's wrong?" she asks with furrowed brows.

"Nothing," he retorts, refusing eye-contact. She refrains from asking again. He obviously didn't want to talk about it, and the awkward silence didn't get a chance to settle in when a waiter appeared and slid two baskets opposite them containing a burger and fries each. "Eat up," Damon tells her.

"You don't say."

She takes a few bites of her sandwich before facing Damon, who was also eating, again. She felt the need to say something, and caught onto an interesting topic. "How can you even eat?" she asked with a smirk. Damon sighs.

"As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally," he waves with a fry, then puts it into his mouth, growing quiet again. He was obviously not in a very talkative mood, but Emily wasn't having it. She tries again.

"What did you do with Logan? Did you find out who turned him?"

"No. He thought I did. Like I'd ever turn a prick like him."

"Yeah. He's an ass. Cheated on my aunt. Says she left town because of him," she makes conversation.

"Huh. And somehow, the runaway ends up being your guardian," he says. Emily frowns.

"It's not like any of us were expecting it…Any of it," she turns away and grows silent. Damon managed to assume what she was thinking of, and obviously it wasn't pleasant. A thought crosses his mind, and he faces her.

"What if I turned **you** into a vampire, Emily?" he suggested. She snapped to him with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked with a humorous smile, as though she wasn't taking him seriously.

"Think about it. You could take care of your siblings. Could compel their way into an expensive college, an expensive house, that sorta stuff," he smirks. Her amusement falls as she starts to realize he was being serious. It takes her a minute to process his very, very appealing proposal,

as well as to be reminded of the cost.

"And is that before or after I eat them?" she retorts.

"Oh, come on. You can learn to control yourself. It's only hard at the beginning," he says. She shakes her head, despite being slightly inclined to reconsider.

"No, Damon. It's too risky. I won't be able to live with myself if I hurt them, and eternity's a pretty long time," she says. He tilts his head in consideration.

"You'd make one sexy vampire," he smirks, finishing off his sandwich. She faces him irritably.

"So, do you flirt with **every**thing that has a pair of breasts?" she asks. Damon doesn't see it coming, and snorts in laughter. He laughs for almost a full minute, infecting her with humor and causing her to smirk too. He then turns to her.

"Someone sounds jealous," he says.

"Jealous of what?! You're disgusting!"

"Look, your voice is all squeaky," he grins.

"Shut up!" she lightly punches his arm and chuckles.

"Here you go," Bree says, approaching the two with beer bottles. Emily takes hers.

"Ah," Damon calls, but she's already got her lips to the bottle. "You're not supposed to be drinking, Emily," he muses. She raises a hand at him, then descends the bottle after depleting half of it. She sighs happily, and faces him.

"I'm sorry. You were saying? We're on a day off, right? So. Excuse me, **and** the bottle," she points to it, and grins sheepishly at him. He chuckles and shakes his head at her.

XXX

"Wow. I definitely shouldn't be drinking this much," Emily chuckles. It must have been her third shot. She was definitely feeling the alcohol.

"Giving up?" Damon grins from beside her.

"Yesss! I should **not** be drinking this much around **you**!" she states.

"Ha! Why? Afraid we'd end up doing something you'll regret?" he teases, nearing her.

"No, no, no," she places her index finger on his lips and pushes him away. "Not gonna happen, mister. Oh!" she suddenly exclaims, turning to face the jukebox in the corner. "I love this song!" she says, grinning at the I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. Damon grins too. "Oh, I wish I could dance!"

"Go for it," he encourages.

"Oh, no. I'm not making a fool of myself," she chuckles hiding her face in her hands.

"Oh, come on!" Damon pries her hands away and starts pulling her to the dance floor.

"No, no!" Emily exclaims, despite following with zero resistance.

Damon pulls her into him and throws her arms around his neck, places his hands on her hips and starts to move. She follows his movements, wondering why the room had heated up all of a sudden. Some patrons cheered them on, and others joined on the floor.

"See. You're letting loose," he says.

"You are baaad, Damon," she says, definitely drunk. He hums at the statement and moves to close the distance between them. Their foreheads meet and Emily shuts her eyes at the feel, their bodies moving to the beat. She then giggles.

"What?" Damon lowly asks.

"My family would never approve of you," she says.

"I get that a lot," he grins. Then she frowns.

"Oh, but I really like you Damon. You're so kind, and sweet, and caring."

"Sounds like you're describing someone else," he chuckles lightly. She pulls back.

"But I'm not. That's you. Your heart, it's…it's bigger than Stefan's," that catches his attention. "You feel, so much more deeply. And I hate it, but it's incredible, how dedicated you are to Katherine." Her words hit him deeply. He's no longer dancing, just looking at her, trying to absorb what she'd said. She closes her eyes again, and moans tiredly. "That doesn't feel good," she says, her head dropping onto his chest. Damon puts one hand on her back securely and the other behind her head.

"Let's get you out of here," he softly says. He hooks his arm around her waist and guides her out of the bar,

unknowingly

being followed…

He unlocks the car, opens the door, and puts her in. "I…forgot my…phone," she says semi-consciously.

"I'll get it," he tells, fixing her in and closing the door.

He was gone for two minutes, and when he's back,

he can't find her.

Confused, Damon eyes around. "Emily?"

No answer.

He pockets her phone and starts looking around.

He hears something hit metal, and rounds the bar, to a giant water tank,

where he found her,

descending the metal ladder.

"Emily!" he calls for her attention. She whips her head around, eyes widening at his presence.

"Damon, no!" she screams,

but it's too late.

He is attacked by someone, with a baseball bat.

The man hits him in the knee, causing Damon to fall, and Emily to almost trip as she attempted to climb down faster. He hits him again, and again, until his leg breaks, then some more all over. "What the hell?!" Damon exclaims between his screams of excruciating pain.

With vampire speed, the man rushes away, then returns with a gas tank!

He pours it all over Damon. "No!" shouts Emily, who'd finally reached the bottom. The man turns to her with blood-red eyes and dark veins beneath them. He flashes her his fangs, and she halts in her tracks in shock and fear.

"Who are you?!" Damon asks from the ground, diverting attention from the Gilbert. The man, Lee, scoffs as he drops the last of the gas on Damon and tosses the jerry can aside.

"That's perfect! You have no idea," he spits.

"What are you talking about? What did he do?" asks Emily. Lee snaps to her.

"He killed my girlfriend," he lowly said. Emily's brows furrow,

but Damon knows who he's talking about.

"What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" he demands of Damon wrathfully.

"Nothing," Damon quietly replies.

"Who do you mean? What happened?!" Emily asks, slowly approaching the two.

When she was close enough, she'd try and get her stake out of her boot, and hopefully be fast enough to keep anything rash from happening.

"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?" he angrily replies, hoping she'd shut up as he kicked Damon's jaw and rounded him. Damon grunted in pain, his leg too slowly healing.

"Emily, get out of here," Damon tells. Though she'd heeded his words, she completely brushed them off.

"Lexi. Lexi was your girlfriend? Elena told me about her. About you. You're…supposed to be human," Emily furrowed her brows, taking several other steps forward.

Damon knew what she had, what she was thinking. He wanted to shout at her not to, but that meant Lee knowing too.

He would surely kill her, and Damon was in no position to defend her.

"I was," he solely says,

before pulling a lighter from his pocket.

"Wait, please!" Emily called, rushing towards him. He snaps to her again.

"Stay back! Final warning!" he shouted. Damon clenches his jaw in protective frustration, trying to get to his feet.

Emily shot a glare at him that told him she was blaming him for their current situation. He shook his head at her, praying she wouldn't bend to take that stake out.

The man kicks Damon again and lights a flame.

"Don't! Wait! Please!" Emily yells.

"I'm doing you a favor!"

"No! Listen! Yes, he killed her!" she tries, her heart racing madly in her chest. Lee faces her, and, for a moment, she panics, so does Damon, then, she very, very careful thinks over her next words, gulping down her fear. "He does things, he shouldn't, and he says things, he shouldn't…But…" she looks at Damon as if for help. He doesn't know what to say, he's just waiting for his leg to heal so he could get up and deal. Emily had to keep stalling. She finds words and faces Lee again. "There's good in him too. He saved me, and he helped my brother. He's conflicted," Damon unwillingly hears every word, "and he made a mistake he can't take back…" she could see Lee coming around. "Don't make that same mistake…please…" she felt tears slide down her cheeks, and wasn't aware until then that she was crying. She was scared, but also confident of her last statement: "She wouldn't want you to be that guy…"

A heavy,

beat,

passes.

…He closes the lighter,

pockets it.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

Then he approaches Damon, and hauls him up by the collar.

Emily feels frozen for a moment, uncertain what more to do or say.

She is a second away from jumping the guy, when he throws Damon flying into the stone wall of the warehouse behind.

That's it.

She runs forward to Damon's side.

He, groaning in pain, looks to see her beside him, and his head stops spinning. But warily still, he faces Lee, who looks as though he was in more pain than himself. Emily faces him too with hands on Damon's shoulders. "…Thank you," she nods at him. He shakes his head at her with tears in his own eyes.

"…It wasn't for you…"

He zooms away…

XXXXX


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you okay?" Emily asks, mad with concern. Her hand was on his cheek and the other beneath his arm. Damon weakly nods.

"Fine," he says.

He rises to his feet groaning, and she helps him up.

He takes a minute to catch his breath, so does she.

When she starts calming down, she begins to realize how worked up she **was**,

and why.

"You fucking idiot," she utters. Damon faces her perplexedly. Upon acknowledging it was meant for him, he tilts his head.

"Guess I deserve that," he says.

"No. No," she frowns deeply at him, tears glistering in her eyes. "You hurt people…You kill people," she says in what seemed like a mixture of disgust and disappointment, shaking her head in the process. Damon frowns too. Her eyes light up in sudden realization. "You didn't care whether or not you getting what you wanted means hurting others. All those vampires you were gonna let loose, and **still** would!" her voice escalates in frustration. "I should've let him kill you!" she cries, tears freely streaming down her cheeks.

Damon feels his heart pounding at her harsh words. He glares heatedly at her, more hurt than angry. He suddenly bends down and pulls her stake out of her boot.

Her eyes widen. He forces it into her hand and closes her fingers around it,

then brings the edge to his chest.

Her bewildered, glossy eyes lock with his.

"Do it," he says, only half-serious. "This is what you want, right? I'm the center of your problems, so do it. Get rid of me," he calmly tells.

She's breathing heavily, her mind and heart just as heavy.

A part of her felt she should.

The chance was right there…

And though so much could go wrong,

she really felt like she should…

but…

she might have been drunk when she said it,

but everything she thought about him, and confessed as they were dancing, was true…

and everything she was sober enough to tell Lee…

was true…

"I can," she strictly tells, refusing to show weakness, as he seemed to be daring her, despite her shaking hands, her racing heart, her dripping tears.

Oh, he knew she could.

…He also knew she couldn't…

"But I don't want to," she retracted her hand, causing Damon's tension to somewhat unwind. She then ripped her gaze from his and looked to the side, trying to convince herself of her decision.

…

…

What came over him?

What drove him to it?

These were thoughts neither considered,

as he pulled her into him,

…and kissed her…

It was sudden,

swift,

unexpected,

yet,

somehow,

it was as though they'd both been waiting for it…

That's what it felt like,

relief.

They kissed heatedly, in a frenzy of passion.

The stake dropped to the ground.

Her hands held his face.

His were on her back, pushing her against him.

Their lips were locked firmly.

…

…And it was either the lack of air,

or the sudden realization of what they were doing,

that had them finally pulling apart.

XXX

The car ride back to Mystic Falls is anything but comfortable.

There was a heavy tension in the air between the two, a confused one, a reluctant one, a semi-regretful one.

There was a single thought on each of their minds; they both knew what the other was thinking,

but that didn't help.

What would they say?

What could be said?

One question. The only question that mattered. Who would say it first?

She was about to, but refrained, every time she looked at him.

He noticed, every time she did,

could almost hear her question.

They were still an hour or so from town, and for this back and forth to persist any longer would surely drive him crazy.

"Fine. I'll talk," he started. Emily faced him with great interest. "I don't know why I kissed you, Emily. Cause I wanted to. There. End of discussion." Emily eyes him for another minute as she considered what he'd said, and somehow felt indifferent to it.

She was fixed more on the fact that he didn't know, and attempted to figure it out herself.

Cause she saved him. Cause she's nice to him? She didn't think she was.

Her mind whirled back to one topic. Katherine.

"I'm not…the type to fool around, Damon…You're not over Katherine, and I don't know if you ever will be…So…just…Lets not…do that again," she weirdly explains. It actually hurt to say it, like she herself refused the idea,

of not kissing him again.

She knew it was cliché,

but, kissing him,

truly felt…

magical…

He processes her words, and accepts them. "Not like you seemed very much against it at the time," he smirked teasingly.

"Oh, shut up," she waved her hand and faced the window. He lightly chuckled.

Another moment of silence passed as Damon remembered what had happened before they left.

He went to Bree, whom he suspected was behind his attack.

Betrayal…

One of the things he couldn't stand.

Stood opposite her, he debated ending her,

then she blabbered out that there was indeed another way to open the tomb underneath the church.

Funny, because, earlier, when he'd asked her, she said there wasn't.

She told him that there may be a way through Emily Bennet's Grimoire.

He asked her where it was.

She couldn't answer, cause she didn't know.

…He killed her.

…Now, he vowed to open the tomb, if it was the last thing he did…

…but…

He glanced at the woman to his side,

and felt the smallest hint of reluctance.

He couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I'm going to open that tomb, Emily," he said out of the blue. She faced him again, confused, and about to ask 'what tomb.' "I'm getting her back." It was obvious then who, what he was talking about.

Her gaze faltered.

"But…I'll make sure you don't get killed in the process," he smirks with little humor.

Somehow, Emily doesn't believe he could promise that,

but for him to even bother,

it moved something in her.

"…Don't kill me for saying it, Damon…But she's not worth it," Emily carefully says. Damon's expression twists angrily.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he strictly says.

"Maybe…But…I guess I'm trying to say that…you deserve someone…who chooses you, you know? Just you…" she tries. Damon inhales from sudden heavy tension.

"Someone like you," he quietly, tiredly mocks, refusing eye-contact. Her heart jumps at the suggestion, but she wouldn't let her point falter.

"No…Cause I'd want you to choose me too," she logically, softly, gave.

He grew silent.

She was satisfied he wasn't arguing back; it meant he was thinking,

but, even though she hoped he'd listen, she also knew that, a hundred or so years of love,

don't just fade away.

XXX

"I don't set a lot of rules, Emily," says Jenna the minute Emily walks into the door. Emily was taken off guard as she shut the door behind her, brows furrowing.

"Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth," she rises from the couch, approaching the older Gilbert. "I got a call, about the car." Emily's eyes widen in realization. "What happened? Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that."

…

Wow.

Emily certainly didn't take this conversation into consideration.

She stood quiet for a moment, before her tense posture slumped and she realized she'd have to be honest,

to a point.

"Okay. I'll explain," she says, peeling off her bag and heading for the couch. She slumps down with leg beneath her thigh, and Jenna followed suit, sitting opposite her expectantly, and angrily. "…There was a guy…on the road…He came out of nowhere," Jenna's brows furrowed worriedly. "I tried to get past him, but the car flipped, and crashed." Jenna looked profusely concerned. "…I was hanging upside down, and my belt wouldn't open…I was freaking out, when Damon showed up," she explained, all the while heartedly trying to remember details, and when to exclude them.

"Damon Salvatore?" Jenna asked for confirmation.

"Yeah…He helped me out, and I think I passed out…" she was reluctant to explain what came next, but she was also starting to grasp at a string of a good excuse. "When I woke up, I was in his car." Jenna's eyes widen warily. "Turns out, he was on his way to a friend out of town, and he took me with him, after making sure I was okay," Emily states as though it was no big deal.

"He kidnapped you?!" Jenna suddenly exclaims. Emily's brows raise.

"What? No!" she sighs. "Damon. He's like that. Spontaneous. He thought it would be…fun," Emily weirdly tries to explain, suddenly wondering why indeed had he taken her along.

"Fun?! You were in an accident. Why didn't he take you home, or call an ambulance?!"

"I was fine! And…Look, see, this is why I didn't tell you, cause I knew you'd worry the whole time till I was back, even though there was nothing to worry about. Damon's harmless."

She almost laughed out immediately after saying that.

Damon? Harmless? Right.

"Yeah. Right," Jenna sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose with her elbow on the back of the couch. "This is not okay, Em."

"I know. I know…I promise it won't happen again," she assures, despite being highly uncertain of that. Jenna sighs again, then faces the Gilbert.

"I'd be more mad at you…but I need your help," she says.

Emily's brows furrow…

XXX

"Elena. It's me. Open up," Emily tells, knocking thrice on her sister's bedroom door.

"Hey," Emily looks to see Jeremy by his door. "You're back. Where were you?" he asks.

"Hey," she smiles. "I'll explain everything. Just need to pry Elena out of her room."

"What's going on?" he asks perplexedly.

Apparently, Jeremy wasn't informed.

"I'll tell you later," she says. Just then, the door opens, and Elena is opposite her sister with a plain expression, despite having bags beneath her eyes. "Hey," Emily looks to her softly. Elena makes way for her to enter, while Jenna watched from the bottom of the stairs warily. Jeremy's face pulls a confused look, but he resides back into his room as Emily enters her sister's and shuts the door behind them.

XXX

"Where have you been, Emily? Do you have any idea what I spent the whole day doing?!" Elena says the minute Emily closes the door. "I had to go to **Stefan**, after I…" she pauses, and her angry gaze falters for a minute. "and then we went to Bonnie, and, that went to shit," she places a hand on her forehead tiredly. Emily smiles softly at her.

"Okay," she starts. "One thing at a time," she makes way to her sister's bed. Elena still stands. "From the beginning."

"You first," Elena pushed with an irritated tone.

"Okay," Emily says as she knelt over and removed her boots, revealing her ankle-braclete, and her stake, which she placed on the bedside table. She sighs, recalling then the exact events that had taken place. "I was coming to pick you up after-Oh! Oh my god!" she suddenly exclaims. Elena's eyes widen. Emily faces her with a bewildered look. "You said you look like Katherine. Oh my god. How did that slip my mind?!" Elena eases up.

"It's fine. Just…what happened when you came to find me?" she asks, sitting at the edge beside her sister. Emily takes a minute to bypass the incredibly important point as she began to piece one and one, with what Jenna said about Elena finding out

that she was adopted.

"Okay, uhhh, there was a guy on the road. A vampire," Elena's eyes widen. "I hit him, I think, but…he healed," Emily grimaces at the mad memory, "and got up, and started coming at me, when Damon showed up. He helped me out of the car, it had turned over, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was with him in his car, and we were headed to Georgia-"

"Georgia?!" Elena exclaims.

"Yeah. Anyways," Emily gets up and opens the door to the bathroom joined between Elena and Jeremy's rooms. She rolls up her sleeves and starts washing up. "He was headed to see a friend, this woman," Emily's nose cringes in disgust,

or jealousy.

"We ate, then, uhhh…"

"What?" Elena pushed. Emily was reluctant to tell her about all that came after, the getting drunk, the dancing, Lexi's boyfriend…

…the kiss…

She turned off the tap and wiped her hands and face in a towel. "Then we drove back," she lied through the fabric.

Details weren't that important.

She faces her sister. "Your turn," she says. Elena gets the slight feeling her sister wasn't being entirely truthful, but there was so much on her mind, she had to tell somebody. Elena followed her sister back into her room, and they closed the bathroom door to insure privacy.

"When you didn't show up, I walked home," Emily feels a pang of guilt for that. "I left when I saw…the picture."

"Yeah. What picture?" Emily pushed as she grabbed a hair tie from Elena's dressing table and pulled back her hair.

"A picture…of Katherine…It looked…old…Really old, like back when he told us the story..." Emily's brows were furrowed as she listened and made her way back to the bed; Elena did the same. "I went home, and you weren't there. Then you send that text, and I tried to call, but you wouldn't pick up."

"Yeah. Damon sent the text. He didn't answer cause," she chuckles lightly, "he thinks you don't like him, and that you would've freaked out."

"I **don't** like him. Why did he take you to Georgia?!"

"He was going to see someone."

"Yeah, but why did he take **you**?"

"I don't know. Damon's…weird," Emily brushes off.

"Yeah, or he likes you," Elena immediately guesses.

"Ha!" Emily laughs in mock,

but quickly frowns upon recalling the kiss…

her stomach churned in sorrow.

"Yeah. No. He's…in love with Katherine," she states, refusing eye contact. Elena notices the disappointment in her sister's eyes.

"…Emily, it's for the best. He's not a good person."

"That's not true," Emily quickly refuses. Elena furrows her brows at her. "Look, forget it. Go on. You got the text, and then went to Bonnie why?" Elena doesn't push.

"Right…I went to Stefan first, despite the fact that, at the time, I couldn't stand to look at him," she grimaces. Emily frowns. "I was worried that it might be vampire-related; you're not the type of person to just disappear…I guess I was right," a flash of grand concern appears in Elena's eyes. She tries to push past recalling how scared she was when Emily hadn't shown up. They were a chaotic few hours till she'd finally heard her voice on the phone. "Anyways. Even after you called me, me and Stefan went to find Bonnie. Stefan said she could do a locater spell to find you, cause we didn't trust Damon to keep you safe." That wasn't entirely true…Stefan knew he wouldn't her hurt, he only humored Elena for the chance of talking her through the deal with Katherine. "She was having trouble with her magic, and all day we tried to fix that, while Stefan explained to me…why I looked like Katherine…" Elena grows silent for a moment of discomfort. Emily patiently waits. "He told me that, he'd come back to Mystic Falls one time to see Zach…and he saw me…he stayed to make sure I wasn't her, and when he did…he said he couldn't leave without getting to know me…He was there when the accident happened…he's the reason I didn't drown with mom and dad." Emily's eyes widen at that. Tears start welling up in Elena's eyes. "He said he tried to figure out why I looked like Katherine…and he found out I was adopted…" she can't hold it in any more…

she cries heavily.

Emily quickly scoots forward and brings her sister into her arms. "I just can't believe it! How?! Why?! It…It feels like my whole life is a **lie**, Emily! I'm-I'm not even your sister!" she exclaims, pulling back. Emily fixes her gaze on her sternly.

"I don't wanna hear that kind of crap, Elena. Of course you're my sister. You've **been** my sister for the past seventeen years, and you'll **stay** that way. Do you understand?" Elena eyes her painfully. "I don't care about some stupid blood-tie…I'll **always** be here for you, do you hear me?" Emily takes on a softer tone. The hurt on her sister's face was a horrifying sight, but she felt some relief when Elena threw herself back into her arms,

insuring that nothing had changed between them…

XXXXX


	17. Chapter 17

"You're back," Stefan states, coming to stop at Damon's room. He leans against the door frame as Damon comes out of his bathroom with a towel around his waist.  
"And you're very perceptive," Damon teases, opening his closet in search of clothes.  
"What were you doing in Atlanta, Damon?" Stefan got to the point.  
"Getting drunk with the hot Gilbert," he answers plainly, pulling on a pair of sweats. Stefan grows wary.  
"Yeah. That's not what you said on the phone. Did you take her back to the house?"  
"No, Stefan. She's under my bed sheets," Damon says sarcastically, pointing a look at his empty bed. Stefan eases up. He'd check on Emily later to insure she's fine.  
"You went to see Bree. Why?" he asks. Damon, who was checking his phone, sighs irritably at Stefan's nosiness.  
"Not your concern," he answers plainly.  
"Did she tell you there was another way to get into the tomb?" Stefan pushes. Damon rolls his eyes.  
"Get out of my room, Stefan. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day," he retorts, approaching his bed and peeling of the covers.  
"…You need to stay away from Emily, Damon…Stop messing with her head," he says. Damon somewhat tenses up, facing Stefan momentarily.  
"I think that's also not your concern," the fact that he said it with a bitter tone grasped Stefan's attention.

Either Damon was really tired and not up to being permanently sarcastic,

or something happened between them that he didn't want to talk about…

XXX

Stefan drops by the house late that night to check on Emily, and get the chance to talk to her. He finds she is sleeping by her sister's side, smiles, and takes his leave.

They could talk later.

The next morning, Emily explains what had happened with her to a curious Jeremy; same things she said to Jenna. He also asked what was wrong with Elena, but Emily didn't get the chance to explain,

nor did she think he should know,

nor did she think Elena would want him to know.

Thankfully, he was getting late for school, and had to leave.

After two college lectures, Emily is approached by Stefan during her break. He'd checked her timetable to see when she was free, and he honestly didn't want to talk to her at the house; he didn't think she'd be completely honest with others present, including Elena.

"Hey, Stefan," she furrows her brows, then smiles politely. "What are you doing here?" she asks with an iced-tea cup in hand.  
"Hey. I just…wanted to check up on you," he smiled as well.  
"Oh," Emily utters, being reminded by the previous day's events. "Yeah, I'm fine," she says, walking alongside Stefan to an outdoor bench. "Damon just…Nothing happened," she casually says,

as casual as she could act.

Stefan heard her heart jump; she was lying.

"Were you wearing vervain the whole time?" he asks. Emily snaps to him as if accused.  
"Yes. I was. He didn't compel me," she says, tone more hostile than she meant it to be.  
"Okay. It's…Damon's not particularly…trustworthy," Stefan tries to calmly explain.  
"Yeah, I know," she brushes off, taking a sip of her drink as she sat on the bench, and Stefan did the same.  
"…Can I ask what happened?" he encouraged, despite sensing that Emily was hesitant, for some reason, about it.  
"I told you. Not much. There was a guy, with the car."  
"Yeah, Elena told me at school," he says.  
"Then, what do you wanna know?" she asks with a smirk, despite not actually being amused.  
"I'm curious about why he went to that bar," he says.  
"I didn't tell Elena about a bar," Emily furrows her brows.  
"I know Bree. I know her bar, and I know that she's a witch," Stefan explains.  
"She's a witch?" Emily asks in surprise. Stefan thought she knew.  
"Yeah. I just wanna know what she told Damon."  
"Well, I don't know. I didn't hear them; they talked at another table," she answers. He could tell she was being honest.

Then her heart jumped, and gaze went afar.

"What?" he pushed.  
"What?" she retorted in confusion.

If this wasn't important, he wouldn't be bothering her so much.

"I could hear your heart jump…Is there something else you wanna tell me?" he asks. Her mind moved from Damon's confirmation of attempting to open the tomb, to the thing that really shouldn't be said.  
"No," she quickly denies. He gives her a look. She rolls her eyes, cursing how irritating vampires were. "We just…kissed," she says, refusing to make a big deal out of it.

Stefan wasn't expecting that.

"Okay. It's no big deal. Are you done…interrogating me?" she told sternly.  
"I…wasn't interrogating you, Emily…You have to understand…What Damon wants, it's dangerous…" she rolls her eyes. "It puts Elena in danger. It puts you in danger. I need to know what he's planning."  
"He wants her back, Stefan," she cuts off. Stefan's mouth shuts. "That's all. That's all he wants…He wants her back."

A moment of silence passes, both she and him disturbed by the mention of **her**.

"Listen…I gotta go, but…" she faces him seriously. "He said he'd make sure I wouldn't get hurt in the process…He didn't have to say it, but he did…"

_'and he didn't have to kiss me, but he did,'_ she thought, but didn't say.

Stefan takes her words into consideration.

It did sound very unlike Damon…

She gets up, snapping him out of it.

"Emily," he calls, rising as well. She faces him again, sliding a hand under her book-filled bag's strap. "Just…don't let him get to you…It's her he wants."

Emily's expression falls plain.

"I know…" she nods in dismiss,

taking her leave.

XXX

The next day, Jenna opens up to Elena about her origins. Emily was present for the conversation, and listened as Jena explained how one night when, their father, who was a doctor, was about to leave his office, this girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared…They kept the baby…and Grayson, their father, took care of the documentation that stated that he and Miranda were Elena's biological parents. The girl, Elena's mother, her name was Isobel.

The facts were so surreal, thinking of Elena's 'real' parents, that she wasn't a Gilbert. None of them actually treated the facts with any seriousness; they disregarded them; that wasn't hard,

but for Elena…

She couldn't just ignore it…

She couldn't fully process it either.

That same day, Stefan, taking into consideration Emily's words, attempts to help Damon.

Maybe in doing so,

maybe if he got what he wanted,

he'd stop being a threat,

maybe he'd even leave town,

leave him and Emily alone.

Maybe…

He gave him their father's journal, which he'd read himself, and told Damon that there was nothing in it that discussed the tomb. Then he offered Damon help, and explained that him getting Katherine meant him leaving.

Damon was suspicious of his brother's behavior.

"What about the other 26 vampires?" he pushed, from on the desk in his library.  
"No, no, no. They can't come. They have to stay put, but Katherine, I would consider that," Stefan answered, standing opposite him. Damon squints his eyes.  
"What are you doin'? Hmm? What's your angle?" he asks suspiciously.  
"Maybe you should thank Emily." Damon furrows his brows.  
"What does she have to do with it?..." Realization falls upon him. "What did she say?" he curiously asks.  
"Ironically, Damon…Nothing bad regarding **you**."

Damon thinks this over, feeling a prick in his chest.

That Gilbert wasn't intent on bumping out of his life, was she?

"She seems to care about you, Damon…" Stefan snaps him out of it. Damon doesn't reply. He knows, and it bothers him. "You'd do her a favor by getting out of town."  
"And why would I trust you?" Damon pushes, dismissing the former topic.  
"See that's your problem, Damon. You apply all of your shortcomings to everybody else. If history's any indication, there's only one liar among us."

XXX

The day after, Elena comes home and tells Emily something disturbing…

Someone had called her phone, a man, who claimed he was the one Emily drove over. Says he couldn't get rid of her, but that she wasn't really the one he was after. Told her to watch her back, then hung up as Elena ran back into the Mystic Grill, and called Stefan, who told her he'd be back with something to help her keep an eye out.

He went to ask Damon about the Gilbert watch, and had to explain why he needed it for Damon to quit his secretive rejections. He finally confessed that Emily had it.

Stefan was on his way to Elena that night regardless, for the fifties theme dance was happening at their school, and she was his date. He'd ask Emily about it then.

But he wasn't the only one on his way to them…

Emily was in her room, doing homework.

Jenna and Jeremy had left in Jenna's car, the only functioning car, and Elena was waiting to be picked up by Stefan as she readied herself in her room.

Suddenly, a sound ticks by Emily's side.

She looks to her bedside table,

and notices that the noise was coming from the watch…

the Gilbert watch.

…Her heart jumps. She reaches out, and opens it.

The compass within was spinning frantically, stopping every few seconds at a certain position.

Emily jumps to her feet and grabs it.

"Damon?!" she questioned loudly.

No answer…

She opens her drawer and brings out the stake. She eyes around for her phone, and snatches it off the bed,

dialing his number.

_"Yeah?"_ he answers.  
"Damon. Are you here?" she asks.  
_"Here where?"_ he retorts as she peeks outside her window.  
"Here! At my house!"  
_"No. I'm not. What's going on?" _he warily asks, straightening up on his desk.  
"Damon. I think someone's here…a vampire…the compass…it's spinning." Damon gets to his feet, eyes wide.  
_"…I'll be right there. Stay in your room. Shut the door. And Emily. Don't try anything stupid. He'll be much faster, and much stronger. He __**will**__ kill you. Do you understand?" _he sternly tells, already out of his house.

He honestly assumed it was Stefan,

but Stefan wasn't the only vampire around.

Emily rapidly nods. "Okay…Elena!" she opens her bedroom door and calls loudly. "Damon, hurry," she tells him urgently.  
_"I will. It could just be Stefan, by the way. He'll be there any minute, but just in case, do as I said,"_ he spoke in a fast, loud tone that showed he was indeed worried.  
"Okay. Bye."  
"Yeah?" Elena answers, peeking her head from her door.

Emily doesn't get a chance to answer, when she's jumped by someone!

Elena screams, so does Emily, who automatically shoves the stake into the intruder.

It hit his arm, and the man yelled angrily, face darkened by black veins, red eyes, and extended, sharp fangs.

Just then, the man is taken and thrown down the stairs by Stefan, who had just arrived.

Stefan eyes the two with grand concern as Elena rushes to Emily's side on the floor. He looks back at the vampire, who quickly rushed out of the front door…

and was gone…

Emily hastens to her feet warily with wild eyes and readied adrenaline. "Are you okay? Did he bite you?!" Elena asks, frantically looking her over.  
"I'm fine," Emily assures.  
"What happened?" they hear, and all turn to see Damon at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide with concern and accusation.

"He was here," Stefan answers, attempting to catch his breath. "The vampire," he sighs, then faces the two again. The process of calming down is sudden for Emily, as if her breaths were too deep. She lost balance, and nearly tripped, when she felt held up.

She looked up to find Damon right by her side all of a sudden, and she was leaning on him instead of the wall, her hand on his chest and his across her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asks, eyeing her intently and throwing her hair back to check for bite marks. She nods.  
"I'm fine."

For once, Elena sees actual care in Damon's eyes, and is fairly confused.

This was just confirmation for Stefan.

"What did I say about inviting strangers into your house?" Damon scolds.  
"I didn't!" Emily retorts.  
"Well, someone did," he glares at Elena, who suddenly panics and was about to yell 'no,'

when she recalled who the last stranger in the house was.

"The pizza guy…" she utters in sudden realization.  
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!" Damon exclaims, displeased. He guides Emily back into her room, and seats her onto the bed. "What the hell does he want?" he asks the three aloud as he leans against her bedside table, their knees touching.  
"He said he was after me," Elena answers.  
"Yeah, but why?" Damon, that Stefan had previously informed of the threat call, pushes as the younger Gilbert resides beside her sibling. Stefan crosses his arms opposite Damon, also quite worked up.  
"I don't know," Elena answers honestly.  
"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asks him.  
"I told you. **No**," Damon irritably answers. Stefan looks to the side in dismiss.  
"Well, he was invited in, Damon…They're not safe here," he says. Damon exhales from tension, glancing at Emily, concern consuming him for a second before he started thinking.

Emily catches his gaze, and his heart jumps. He doesn't look away as he starts to nod at her. "We'll get him," he promises. "Tonight," he faces Stefan, who furrows his brows in turn.  
"How?" asks Elena.  
"Well, he's after you, isn't he?" he turns to her. Emily and Stefan widen their eyes at him. "Which means he'll be at the dance."  
"Damon, no!" Emily states.  
"Emily, yes!" he humorously retorts. "Remember when Logan Fell was after your aunt," he says. She raises her brows at him.  
"Yeah, but this is different. You wouldn't let him even get to the door. You're talking about being out in the open."

Both Elena and Stefan are confused by what Emily meant, as if the 'taking care of Logan' was something Emily and Damon did together.

It was, they just didn't know.

"Yeah, and whoever comes for her, we'll be ready. Me and dear Stefan here," he glances at Stefan. He faces her again. "Tell me you caught his face this time."

She thinks…

She did…

Granted, he was vampire-like, but she could somewhat remember his features.

She nods.

"I saw him. I might be able to make him out," she says.  
"Good. Then the plan's set. Elena's bait. Emily's our eye-witness. And we get to play cops," he smirks at his brother, who looks fairly unamused.  
"This is a bad idea," Stefan states. Damon rolls his eyes.  
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Emily says to Elena. Damon dislikes the hold back; he eyes Elena expectantly. She thankfully nods.  
"He almost hurt you. Of course I'll do it," she says. Emily smiles softly at her, proud of her sibling's bravery. She gives her shoulder a squeeze. Stefan, despite still reluctant, knew that any alternatives were also dangerous.  
"Touching. Can we go now?" Damon rises to his feet. He puts a hand out to Emily. She takes it and rises to his side. He doesn't let go. "You up for this?" Emily stares at him with an unmistakable need for revenge in her eyes.  
"Hell yeah," she says.

Damon smirks.

She then looks to the side. "Just let me get dressed," she says, standing there in her pjs.  
"Ooh," Damon gives her a flirty look. She rolls her eyes at him and pushes at his arm.  
"Out," she says.  
"Damon," Stefan calls, pointing with his head at the door as he head out himself, his brother soon following. Damon grabs the door with him, and smirks at Emily one more time before shutting it after him.

He turns to face a considerate Stefan. "We're putting them both in danger. You know that, right?" he asks. Damon's expression hardens.  
"They're already in danger. And, please, do enlighten me with a better plan, Stef. I'm all ears," he irritably pushes. Stefan looks to the ground, seeing no other way. Damon passes him to the stairs, heading below, and Stefan does the same.

XXX

"You were right," says Elena to Emily as the latter got dressed in casual clothing.  
"About?" Emily asks.  
"He cares about you. I saw it," she says, causing her sister to pause her movements momentarily, then resumes.

She doesn't reply…

Elena knows she's intentionally ignoring her.

She changes the topic.

Kind of.

"You could at least wear a skirt. We **are** going dancing," she mischievously smiles.  
"We're going vampire-hunting, Elena!" Emily rejects, putting on a pair of dark jeans, and a black t-shirt.  
"I can literally **bet** on you and Damon dancing."  
"They have **super-hearing**, you know?!" Emily shuts her up, and Elena's eyes momentarily go wide at the forgotten fact.

Emily then dramatically sighs and quickly undresses again, pulling out a black, white polka-dotted dress and a black bolero.

Elena smirks, then she furrows her brows.

"What are you doing?!" she asks in bewilderment as Emily pulls out a weapon holster from her closet. "Is that from the Black Widow costume?" she asks. Emily doesn't reply as she ties it around her thigh, beneath the dress, and pulls out another stake from her other bedside table, sliding it in spot. She then lets the dress fall to her knees, and Elena smirks again. "That's pretty badass," she says.

XXXXX


	18. Chapter 18

While Emily dressed, Damon quickly went to get his car.

The four arrive at the dance. The basketball court is crowded with students and teachers dressed as the theme decade demanded. Music is blaring from the speakers, and the lights are a dimmed, warm grey.

For a minute, they all just stand, eyeing around warily for the suspect.

"Yeah, well, we're not gonna find him like this. We need to move around. Emily," Damon calls, putting a hand out for her. "Care to dance," he smirks mischievously at her. Elena smirks by Stefan's side, and Stefan hides his own, for, just like Emily had guessed, both boys were listening in on their conversation back at the house. Emily, only half-reluctant, takes his extended hand, and he leads her to the dance floor.

He abruptly stops and pulls her into him. She is pushed close against him, surprised, as he snaked an arm around her waist, his hand rising to find her bare back skin on purpose. "Somehow I knew you'd end up in a dress," he teases. It takes her a minute for her mind to function coherently again.

"That, or you were eavesdropping on me and Elena with your super-hearing," she retorts coyly, causing him to smirk.

"Super-hearing?" He sways her from side to side with the beat.

"Well, what do you call it then?" she asks.

"**Heightened** hearing," he corrects.

"Tsk. Technicality," she rolls her eyes. He chuckles lightly.

"So, what'd you do that had Elena going 'that's pretty badass,'" he says in a girly voice. Her eyes widen. She punches his chest lightly.

"You **were **listening in!" she exclaims.

"Maybe," he smirks. "So, what'd you do?" Emily sighs exasperatedly.

"I strapped the stake to my thigh."

"Ooh. That sounds **incredibly** sexy," he muses. She grins. "We're kinda like mister and missus Smith right now," he winks, causing a laugh to escape her plum lips. He smiles. After a few seconds, she calms down.

"Speaking of being secret agents, then, we're supposed to be on the lookout," she begins to eye around again, and Damon does the same.

For several minutes, that's all they do, to the point where it starts to feel pointless.

"Maybe he won't show," Emily tiredly says.

"Hm," Damon replies quietly, his eyes bitterly fixed somewhere. Emily furrows her brows and turns to see Stefan kissing Elena.

At first, she felt that green fire in her chest, wrongly directed at her sister, till she recalled that the issue wasn't Elena-related.

It was Katherine.

It was Stefan and Katherine.

It was their past, and how it related to Damon.

It was how one woman played two brothers,

and right now, one of those brothers was flaunting his love for someone that looked **exactly** like her.

She turned back to her dance-partner, debating something.

"Damon," she called.

"Hm?" his eyes snapped to hers expectantly. She said nothing, mulling over her decision some more as Damon started to look confused.

Without warning, then, she placed her hands around his neck and brought his lips to hers.

Damon, though un-expecting, slid his eyes shut as she kissed him softly caressing his jaw with her thumb, while her other hand rested on his shoulder. She pulled back before Damon could react. "…What was that for?" he quietly asked. She smiled calmly.

"You were feeling left out," she said. Damon cocked a brow, then scoffed.

"Please. You were just looking for an excuse to kiss me," he said. She giggled lightly.

"Maybe," she bit her lower lip in amusement, and, for a moment, Damon couldn't look anywhere but at her. He then locked serious eyes with hers.

"I thought you didn't 'fool around,'" he said.

"I don't..." she replied, suddenly taking that into consideration. He looks unconvinced, for fairly obvious reasons. "I was feeling sorry for you," she grins sarcastically. He raises both brows at her, then grins as well,

as though feeling sorry for Damon was the last thing anyone would do.

They continue swaying to the music, her hands on his chest and his on her waist.

"Besides. I owe you one," she said.

"For what?"

"For coming when I needed you to," she said in a serious tone. He took this in, then brushed off the seriousness with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, what kinda guy would I be if I didn't?"

"The **worst** kind," she widens her eyes playfully. He chuckles, spinning her, then pulling her into him with her back against his chest.

The scent of her blood set in from her exposed neck, and he was in the process of nearing it when she called out. "By the punch. Jeremy. Dark shirt. Long sleeves." she frantically said.

Damon releases her and steps in front of her to look. He saw someone with a phone to his ear, and couldn't listen in to what he was saying, for the place was too crowded. He leaned in to Emily. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, Damon!" she exclaimed. He nodded.

"Go find Stefan," he said, then started forward.

XXX

Emily rushes over to Elena, who was without Stefan for some reason. "Hello?" Elena calls through the phone, but there's no answer.

"Where's Stefan?" Emily asks her scared sibling.

"He went after this guy I thought was him, but then he called me, and told me to head out, or he'll kill Jeremy!" Elena exclaims as she declines her phone.

"The guy behind Jeremy. Damon went after him," Emily assures, bringing out her own phone and filling Stefan in.

Stefan heads to find Damon after insuring that his target was false.

The brothers attempt to find out from him what he wants with Elena. The man, Noah, whilst being tortured by a stake, says it's because she looked like Katherine that he was after her, cause it's fun, and the two discover that they weren't the only ones Katherine played.

You can imagine how that affects them, Damon more than Stefan,

With the fact that Noah knew Katherine, Damon asks him how to get into the tomb, and after some struggle, he eventually confesses that the answers lie in the Grimoire Damon was after, and that its location was stated in Johnathan Gilbert's journal.

He doesn't confess to who his partners were, but this confirms for the two that there were more vampires in town.

They had to kill Noah, cause he'd been invited into Elena and Emily's house.

Two people saw the occurrence.

A girl named Anna, one of Noah's partners, tasked with getting the journal, and so was attempting, and succeeding, to befriend Jeremy.

And Alaric Saltzman, whom Damon noticed, and compelled to forget the occurrence,

Alaric had vervain, and Damon didn't know…

Alaric was new to town, but held vast knowledge of vampires,

specifically Damon Salvatore…

What does Alaric want?

The brothers soon return to the girls, assure them it was dealt with, but to remain on their guard, until the rest were discovered. They drive them home, then the brothers leave.

In the car, Stefan finally convinces Damon to accept his help.

XXX

The next day goes by normally.

Elena is hanging out at Stefan's, in his room, on his bed, just sitting with him opposite her. They were talking. He had something important to tell her.

"I need to tell you something, and I don't know how you're gonna feel about it," he says. She furrows her brows.

"What?" she asked. He hesitates.

"I told Damon that I'd help him get into that tomb to get Katherine back," he says. Elena's eyes slightly widen. "But it was a lie. I let him believe that he could trust me." She is taken aback and fairly confused by this.

"Why?" she asks.

"Because…I can't trust Damon… There are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people," Elena considers this. "Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others."

"But…He seemed…to care about Emily…Did you see the way he reacted when she got hurt?" Elena tries.

"I did…But that doesn't mean he wouldn't turn on her if she stands against him …He's like that. Impulsive. He'll do whatever he will to get what he wants. Eliminate whatever is in his path…even if that's her," Stefan tries, fairly tense, and displeased by what he was saying,

the truth.

Concern fills Elena to the prim. She inhales deeply.

"I don't wanna be his enemy, Elena, but I can't let him do it. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again," he says.

…

"You know him better…Do what you have to do…" she rubs his shoulder. "I trust you." Stefan smiles softly at her, and pulls her in for a kiss. It's sweet, but short. There was one more thing he had to get out of the way.

"Listen…There's…something else," he says. she pulls back and eyes him expectantly. "Emily…" Elena raises a brow. "You can't tell her what we're planning. I know that the last thing you wanna do is lie to her but-"

"But Damon has her wrapped around his finger…" she sighs.

Then nods.

"Okay…I won't tell her…I just hope this is all over soon."

XXX

The next morning, it's around ten am. Emily had a lecture at twelve.

Her alarm rings on her phone, and she reaches out to shut it up with slit-open, tired eyes. The phone is suddenly in her hand, and she turns it off,

Her pillow slowly rises and declines,

and she could hear a heartbeat beneath her.

Her eyes widen.

She shoots up.

"Damon?!" she asks in shock, then sighs. "What the hell?" she questions exasperatedly, wiping the blurriness out of her eyes. He smirks at her, his hands behind his hand as he lay casually on her bed.

"Well, good morning to you too, sleepyhead," he says. She continues to stare at him, shaking her head. She then looks away, and pushes back her hair.

Expected behavior from Damon, she supposed.

He sits up to meet her face, their arms fully touching. "I need your help," he says as she turns to him.

"You have impeccable timing, Damon," she sarcastically remarks.

"So I've been told," he smirks, then gets off her bed, heading for her study desk. "You were dreaming about me, you know? Explains the droll." Her eyes widen, and she quickly wipes at her mouth, despite there being nothing. She rolls her eyes.

"What do you want, Damon?" she urged, moving to dangle her feet at the side of the bed, as if still in the process of encouraging herself to get up.

"Stefan's agreed to help me open the tomb," he speaks as he fiddles with her belongings, brushing his fingers against the cover of the novel: Robinson Crusoe, a few highlighters, and a cat mug with pens in it. She is busy listening to care much what he was doing. "Our little friend last night let loose the fact that Johnathan Gilbert's journal tells us where Emily Bennet's Grimoire is, and I need the journal, so. You need to get it for me…" he says, turning to her and leaning against the desk with his back. He crossed his arms and eyed her expectantly. She remained silent for a minute, considering things. "Hey," he called. She faced him. "No other vampire is coming out of that tomb. If you don't trust me about it, trust Stefan. He's there to make sure that doesn't happen, so are you in, or should I ask your sister?" he teases, knowing that neither Emily nor Stefan liked Damon anywhere near the younger Gilbert, probably each for different reasons. She rolls her eyes again and gets to her feet.

"I'll get you the journal. And why should I trust Stefan, when I can trust you, right?" she asks in implication, crossing her arms as she approached him. He grins mischievously.

"Course you can," he raises his brows humorously. She smiles lightly.

Then he frowns.

"Of course, that oughta go both ways," he says. She eyes him perplexedly. Then he locks intent eyes with hers. "Can I trust you?"

"Yes. Why ask?" she retorts, still confused, and now a little worried.

"Because I don't buy what Stefan's selling. The sudden teamwork enthusiasm…I need someone on my team." Her eyes slightly widen. "Someone who won't lie to me," he approaches her to a foot apart. "Can I trust you?" he repeats lowly, looking straight into her eyes. A few seconds pass alongside her heavy heart.

"Yes," she nods. "As long as you keep your promise that no one gets hurt."

He smiles,

and something told her she shouldn't believe him.

She knew Damon was intent on doing whatever it took to open that tomb,

and she didn't know what that would lead him to doing…

XXX

"What are you doing?" Elena asks Emily that same day after returning from school. It was around four pm. Emily was at the dining table, digging through a large box.

"Looking for-" Emily is about to answer when she spots Stefan by Elena's side.

She hesitates.

"Uh, Jonathan Gilbert's journal," she answers as though it was no big deal, going back to her search.

"For Damon," Stefan clarifies. Elena gives him a worried look. Apparently, he was right about Emily working for Damon. He smiles lightly as Emily pauses momentarily. "He trusts you more than me. I guess that's fair."

"Is it?" Elena adds to compliment the act.

"Well, I don't know. Did you give him a reason **not** to trust you?" Emily curiously asks.

"You try reversing that sentence, Emily. And you'll be closer to the truth. It's the other way around," he says, half-humorously. She considers his meaning, and brushes it off. No one fully trusted Damon, including her. "But I guess me trusting Damon isn't what matters here. It's him trusting me. I want him out of town, Emily. If getting Katherine back is how to do that, I'll do it," he states firmly.

He seemed genuine,

but when Emily glances at Elena,

she could sense something was off.

…She'd have to ask Elena herself later.

"Well, it isn't here," Emily states, facing the box again. She pulls out an old, non-colored photograph she'd seen before.

"That's Jonathan Gilbert," comments Stefan. The sisters face him curiously.

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy asks, stepping in. He leans against the kitchen counter, smiling at them casually.

"Hey," Emily smiles back at him. "We're just going through some old stuff, but, uhhh, there was a journal here, you know, the one I used to read a lot," she says. Stefan eyes her with furrowed brows,

and just then, he realizes it was through the journal, that Emily found knowledge of the supernatural.

He wonders also, since she'd read it before, if she already knew where the grimoire was.

"Johnathan Gilbert's journal?" Jeremy asks, raising himself onto the counter.

"Yeah. Know where it is?" Emily asks suspiciously as the other two eye him expectantly.

"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman after I did that history report. He wanted to see it," Jeremy explains.

The three share a look.

"What?" Jeremy asks, feeling left out. Emily faces him again.

"Nothing. What are we having for dinner?" she changes the subject as Elena and Stefan step into the living room.

"Jenna said she'd come home tonight and try and cook something up," he says as Emily throws the other stuff back into the box, glancing warily at the duo outside plotting suspiciously.

"Uh, huh. Sounds good," Emily nods nonchalantly.

"You're not even listening to me," Jeremy smirks. She faces him. "Seriously. What's going on?"

"Uhh, I don't know. I think…" she gets to her feet, looking to the side momentarily as she thought of a good excuse. "Elena and Stefan wanna see it for some reason. It **is** pretty cool, you know?" she smirks.

"Yeah, it is. Some crazy stuff in there," Jeremy nods as she approaches him.

"Yeah? Do you…believe it?" she glares playfully. He chuckles lightly.

"Ehh, monsters in the dark? It's a little out there," he retorts,

despite, greatly suspecting it…

It was that girl. The new girl in town. Anna.

She was…strange…She helped him with the report…insisted that maybe vampires were real…

At the fifties dance,

he could have sworn he'd seen her face change…

Emily hears the door to the house shut, and she turns to see that Stefan has gone.

Her eyes widen slightly.

"What about you?" Jeremy asks, half-suspecting. Emily turns to him again. She grins sheepishly.

"Psh. Come on…"

then, she reconsiders.

"Maybe," she tells him in hint.

"Maybe?" he asks in disbelief.

"Yeah…You know…I'm sure there's a lot out there we don't know." Just then, Elena walks in. "Who knows?" Emily widens her eyes playfully at him. He smirks in amusement as she steps out of the kitchen and heads for upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Elena asks, following after her as if hostilely. Emily pauses and squints her eyes.

"To the bathroom," she lies, but it is unclear, as she seemed to be looking accusingly at Elena. "Why?" she asks. Elena swallows.

"No reason…Just asking," she casually smiles, and steps into the kitchen and out of sight.

Emily was definitely getting funny vibes.

Maybe Damon was right not to trust them…

…Maybe she shouldn't trust Damon…

XXXXX


	19. Chapter 19

_"You know, Emily. I'm really starting to look forward to your calls,"_ he says through the phone.

"Yeah? I wouldn't get used to it. You're leaving soon, remember?" she retorted, sitting on the closed lid of the toilet in her bathroom, the door closed.

_"Why do you always have to bring that up?"_ he asks irritably. She rolls her eyes.

_'Because it's going to happen…because I won't see you again.'_ She ignores the pit in her stomach and focuses on why she was calling him. "Listen…Stefan went to get the journal. I was looking for it, and Elena and Stefan were here. Jeremy said he gave it to his history teacher, and Stefan left to get it," she informs.

_"…Huh…"_ he considers. She waits curiously for a reply. _"You still at home?" _ he asks. She furrows her brows.

"Yeah?"

_"And so is Elena, right? Which means Stefan will be back soon…and I'll be there when he does…" _he says. Emily tenses up, uncertain what to expect.

XXX

"Okay. So, I bought groceries, in general. Not sure what to cook. What do you think?" Jenna asks Emily. The former had just arrived from work, evidently in a good mood. Emily doesn't get a chance to answer when the doorbell rings. Jenna furrows her brows.

"Could be Stefan," Emily tells her before heading to open the door.

"Damon," she acknowledges.

"Emily," he smirks. It had been half an hour since he'd called her. She steps aside.

"Come on in," she glances meaningfully at the kitchen as Damon closes the door behind him. He looks to see her aunt, and smiles politely.

"Hello, Jenna," he greets. Jenna raises a displeased brow.

"Damon," she retorts bitterly, a hand on the middle counter and the other on her hip. Emily tenses up.

"Right. We can just-" she gestures to the living room, but is cut off by Jenna.

"Where are you going?" she demands. The two turn to her warily. "I still don't know what to cook," she says. Emily sighs tiredly.

"How about I help?" Damon offers. Emily cocks a suspecting brow at him.

She remembered how 'gentlemanly' he'd been before he 'unveiled' his 'true self' to her.

"Really? You cook?" Jenna asks doubtfully.

"Yeah. Sure I do," he smiles and approaches the kitchen with Emily following. "May I?" he points at the groceries. Jenna nods, gaze fixed intensely on him as she moved back against the other counter and crossed her arms. He postpones asking why she didn't seem to like him very much as he looks into them. "Hey, I know how to make some great pasta, with tomato sauce and mozzarella," he smirks enthusiastically. Jenna considers this.

"That sounds great. I'll help you," Emily says, then faces Jenna. "Hey, Jenna. You're probably tired. Why don't you let us take care of dinner, and you can go ahead and change?" she offers.

"Yes. We'll take care of everything," Damon nods.

They looked like a suspicious pair of cats.

Jenna squints her eyes at them.

"Okay. Let's just get this out of the way," she says, straightening from the counter, and dropping the act. "I don't care…what your idea of fun is," she says to Damon. He eyes her perplexedly.

"Jenna," Emily tries. Jenna doesn't stop as Damon begins to realize that it was something Emily had said that had the aunt worked up.

"You don't just take her out of town, on your own account…It is not okay," she insists. Damon's eyes widen.

"Jenna, seriously," Emily pushes.

"No, it's fine. She's right," Damon says, quickly catching up.

He's unsure what exactly Emily had told her,

but he was confident he could regain her trust, if only to remain in the house till Stefan was back.

"I'm terribly sorry. You're absolutely right. It was…inappropriate…It's just…Emily was telling me the other day how stressed out she was feeling, and how she wanted to get out of town for a bit," he explains,

despite Emily saying none of those things.

Maybe she did mention once that she wanted to leave town.

Jenna looks at her as though in confusion.

Emily wasn't one to complain or confess her troubles,

and it was as if they were overlooked sometimes, until someone pointed it out.

What bothered Jenna was that she was hearing it from a practical stranger.

"I was just…trying to be a good friend," Damon finished.

"Just a friend?" Jenna pushed.

"Okay. Jenna. Seriously," Emily insisted, glaring at her. Jenna backs down, smirking. Damon hides his own.

"Alright. Fine," she heads out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Damon faces Emily, who looked somewhat relieved.

"What did you tell her?" he asked weirdly. She tenses up again.

"I-Nothing! Just. Forget it. Nice save," she patted his shoulder, facing the grocery bags. "Do you actually know how to cook?" she asks. He goes with the new topic in dismiss.

"That so hard to believe?" he retorts in amusement.

"Well, you never seize to surprise me, Damon." He smirks.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that, **friend**," she sarcastically remarks.

"Would you rather I tell her we made out? Twice," he leans into her. Her face grows red and heart rate increases. Then she scoffs.

"You're an ass," she says. He grins sheepishly, and starts emptying out the bags on the counter with her helping.

"Okay, so do I just boil it?" she asks with a penne pasta packet in hand.

"Yes. I'll take care of the sauce," he answers, pulling out the tomatoes. "I need a bowl," he says. She smirks, and opens a cabinet to bring one out. She places it next to him on the counter. He catches her amusement and asks: "What?

"It's just really weird. Damon Salvatore, chief vampire," she whispers the last part before grapping the pasta and heading to the oven with him chuckling behind her.

"Hello, Elena," she hears him comment, and turns to see her sister at the bottom of the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" she asks warily.

"Just…making dinner. Where's Stefan?" Damon asks. Elena somewhat glares at Emily, who eyes her back plainly as she came to stand by Damon.

"He'll be here…" she replies, feigning sudden confidence. She then faces her sister. "Emily, can I…" she points with her thumb in the back, then recalls that even while whispering, Damon could hear them. She exhales in defeat. "Never mind."

"Go ahead, Elena. Say what's on your mind. We're all a team here," Damon mischievously encourages. Emily grew tense by her sister's visible anxiousness. Elena then straightened.

"Okay," she stepped into the kitchen. "Why do you have Emily working for you like some minion? Why are you using her?" she asks. Emily's eyes widen. Damon furrows his brows and gives a disbelieving look.

"I'm not **using** her."

"He asked for my **help**, Elena. What's the big deal? He was here when I called him the night of the dance, wasn't he?" Emily states.

"Yeah. See? Mutual benefits," he then faces Emily. "Friends With Benefits," he wiggles his eyebrows at her suggestively. Emily catches his meaning and rolls her eyes at him.

"Whatever," comments Elena, turning to head away.

Damon zooms to block her. She gasps in shock, and Emily's eyes are still adjusting to his sudden position switch.

"Here's the real question," he starts. Emily grows wary, and Elena gulps nervously. "Is it for real? This renewed sense of brotherhood?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" she dodges.

"Damon," Emily calls, approaching them. Damon raises a hand to quiet her and she sighs tiredly.

"Can I trust him?" he asks.

"…Yes. Of course you can," Elena answers as honestly as possible. Damon nods, unable to tell fully assess whether or not she was lying.

"Okay…good…Because that means he understands what I'll do…if anyone gets in my way," he lowly says. Elena eyes him warily, then shoots a glare at Emily, before stomping off.

"Was that really necessary?" Emily scolded as he turned back to the kitchen.

"Now, Emily. I'm disappointed," he says, tossing the tomatoes into a bowl and heading to the sink. She raises a confused brow as she searches another cabinet for a cooking pot. He turns on the sink and starts washing the tomatoes as he resumed. "When you're negotiating with team members that are deemed untrustworthy, you have to show them what happens if they…stab you in the back," he flicks water out of his hands, grabs a knife from the knife holder and heads to the cutting-board on the counter. Behind him, Emily fills water into the pot, and leaves it to fill in the sink as she headed to his side to speak quietly, and he tilted his head towards her to listen.

"The 'untrustworthy team members' are my **sister**, and your **brother**," she states half-sarcastically.

"Neither of whom like me very much," he retorts.

"Probably for good reason," she smirks, heading to turn off the sink and place the pot on the oven. She grabs a lighter and attempts to start a flame. The lighter is stubborn, and there's suddenly a hand on hers.

"But **you** like me," he whispers in her ear, sending shivers up her spine as he lit the flame with ease. His hand slides off of hers and he retires to the cutting board.

It takes her a minute to calm down as she covers the pot, and she sighs irritably at his persistent moves.

She stomps back towards him, speaking in hushed whispers. "Maybe that's cause you haven't killed my best friend," she retorts, and Damon soon realizes that she's referring to Lexi.

"You don't **have** a best friend. Where's your blender?" Emily's brows furrow. She scoffs as she turns back and plugs in the blender. She approaches him and grabs the board with the cut up tomatoes on top, and the knife.

"I can if I wanted to," she says, re-approaching the blender as she slid in all the tomatoes, then closed the lid and placed her hand on top of it.

"That would require-" Damon is cut off as she turns the blender on, and he speaks louder. "It would require you actually leaving the house and doing something social!"

"I could say the same to you!" she yells back. "Is this good?" she opens the blender and shows him. The tomatoes are a smooth, light red mixture within.

"Yeah. It's fine. Give me a small pot, and point me to where you keep the spices. And, I don't need friends. What's the point?" She shoves the blender into his hand, and he follows her around as she brought out another pot, put it on the stove.

"Well, I'm no expert in the department, but I guess, pretty much this," she gestured between them, then moved to the spices cabinet and opened it as she resumed. "The talking. The laughing. The helping. That's the point," she faces him with a soft smile.

He smiles back genuinely,

then furrows his brows in consideration.

He debated telling her something.

"You know, there was a time when I trusted Stefan completely," he said, moving to grab at several different jars. She frowns.

"What happened?" she asked.

"…Our father was a member of the council at it's youth…Stefan thought he could help him see reason," he sniffed the contents of an unlabeled jar, then grabbed it as well and headed to the oven. "This is boiling," he points out.

"Oh," she utters, heading to retrieve the pasta and pour it in. "And?" she encouraged, not fully comprehending what 'council' he was referring to.

"Right…He thought he could convince my dad that they weren't all bad…The vampires…her…" he spoke in a gloomy, cold tone as she stirred the pasta with a ladle and listened intently. He poured in the tomato juice into his smaller pot and started peppering it with different spices. "I knew father…I knew the kind of man he was…it was never going to happen…Stefan promised me he wouldn't talk to him…" he faces Emily with a highly displeased look. "But he did…" Emily's eyes widened, and she froze for a moment of consideration. He turned on the stove, and grabbed a spoon from nearby, stirring the sauce. "They were gonna take her whether or not he spoke, I guess…They had the compass," he points out in spite of the story…his feelings… "but it's the fact that he…" Damon purses his lips in frustration, eyes fixed on the sauce.

"…That he broke your trust…" Emily finished for him.

His silence was enough of an answer.

She removed the ladle and closed the pot, letting the pasta cook. When she faced Damon again, he was coming at her with a spoon full of sauce and his hand beneath it. She moves forward and takes a sip, tasting it. It was salty at just the right amount. The combination of spices made the sauce very rich in both taste and smell. "Mm. It's good," she nods, causing a smile to tug at his lips.

"How are we doing in here?" Jenna asks, approaching them in a different outfit and wet hair tied in a bun. She smiles mischievously as they pull apart.

"Going great," Damon plasters on a smiley face.

"Hey, there. Damon," greets Jeremy, who is just behind Jenna.

"Hello, Jeremy," Damon smiles back just as fake-ly. Jenna faces Jeremy expectantly, and Emily squints her eyes at both of them.

"Hey, uh. Wanna play Xbox?" Jeremy offers weirdly, gesturing with a cd box of Burnout Paradise in his hand.

"Sure," Damon faces Emily. "Keep an eye on the sauce," he smirks. She smiles pleasantly and nods at him as he steps out of the kitchen and towards the youngest Gilbert.

The two head into the living room, and Damon resides on the couch while Jeremy readied the console and tv.

To her, the picture suddenly set in,

of Damon spending the day with them, making dinner, playing with Jeremy.

It was…nice…

If only that was the extent of it, if that was the point, to just spend a day together…as a friend?

She knew she wanted more, but in no way was that an option.

Her happy-ish train of thoughts is cut short when Jenna comes to stand right beside her. "So. **Just** friends?" she pushes. It takes Emily a minute to acknowledge her words, before she rolls her eyes.

"God, Jenna. Seriously?!...Did you…tell Jeremy to play with him, so you could ask me that?!" Emily whisper yells, despite being certain that Damon could still hear them.

He could.

He smirks.

"Well…" Jenna has a think-about-it. "…Yes…" Emily gives her a disbelieving look and faces the sauce instead. She checks on the pasta as well as Jenna continues. "I just…It's just! You guys really look like you're getting along!"

"No, Jenna," Emily cut off. "We're just friends," she insists, shooting her a glare.

"But **why**?!" Emily cuts her off again.

"Because we **are**. Now please, just drop it. Please," she persists. Jenna is somewhat confused by Emily's constant rejection, but eventually complies.

"Alright…" She'd have to get the details later

XXXXX


	20. Chapter 20

A while into Damon and Jeremy playing, the latter decides to affirm some facts. "So. You and my sister," he says. Damon, who was focused on the game, registers the statement.

"Not exactly," he vaguely replies.

"Really? That why you took her on a surprise road trip?" Jeremy retorts sarcastically. Damon chuckles.

"Right. I was trying to cheer her up," he replies, despite being actually greatly uncertain as to why he did in fact take her with him.

"Yeah? So, why not?" Jeremy adds, eyes fixed on the tv. Damon catches his meaning, sensing the protective brother tone.

"It's complicated. I mean, don't get me wrong. Emily's great. She's smart. She funny. She's sweet…It's me. I have…issues," Damon weirdly replies, not actually taking the idea of 'being with' Emily seriously.

"What kinda issues?" Jeremy curiously asks.

"Just…stuff," Damon was starting to get tired of the conversation, wondering where Stefan was this whole time. He was enjoying the game though.

"Do you talk to her about it?"

"Sometimes." Damon momentarily tries to recall the amount of times he'd let her glimpse into his past.

"Well, she doesn't seem to mind. I mean. She's got issues too. Besides, her ex wasn't exactly a saint."

"She has an ex?!" Damon asks in surprise, facing Jeremy.

"Yeah. Hey, I passed you!" Jeremy grins. Damon faces the tv and quickly regains control of his car. "She didn't tell you?"

"No. She didn't!" Damon replies, irritated by the game slip. "Who was he?" he asks. Jeremy's grin widens, thinking that Damon sounded fairly jealous, and was assuming this would bring him and Emily closer.

She was his sister. He wanted her to be happy.

"This guy she met at college. His name was Alec. He was like the cool guy every girl was into. He was smart. He was sporty. That sorta crap," Jeremy lists kind of irritably. "I guess she caught his eye. We didn't think they made much sense though, cause he was the outgoing type and stuff, and Emily wasn't. It's like she wants to be, but doesn't know how to, or doesn't wanna do it alone, you know." Jeremy casually explains. Damon's noticed that about her.

"So what happened?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"He had to leave town. Changed majors and went to some fancier college or whatever." Damon raises a brow and frowns.

…Was that why she always reaffirmed the fact…that Damon was leaving? She would always say it as though a factual reminder…like she didn't want to get used to having him around…

"I'm guessing she didn't take it well," Damon comments sourly.

"Yeah. No. She was really weird about it. Like. Stubborn." Damon furrowed his brows. "She spent most of the time in her room, **actually** studying. Who studies after a break up?" Jeremy weirdly mentions.

"She didn't want his leaving to affect her," Damon explains.

"Yeah. That's what we guessed. Didn't make her look any less upset though. She's not one to…communicate feelings, you know."

"That makes two of us," he smiles, resisting the urge to turn and look at her.

Jeremy's phone rings, and he pauses the game. Damon eyes the tv in confusion, upset with the pause. He faces Jeremy and sees him glance at the caller, close the phone and toss it aside. He un-pauses the game, and they continue as Damon asks: "Who are you dodging?"

"This girl Anna. She can be, uh, persistent," he says.

"Is she hot?" Damon smirks. Jeremy chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah, but she can be weird."

"Hot trumps weird, trust me." Jeremy laughs.

The doorbell rings, and Damon's eyes widen. He tosses the controller aside and jumps off the couch, rushing to the door. "Dude!" Jeremy complains. Damon ignores him as he heads for the door. Emily is approaching from the kitchen, but both are taken aback when Elena rushes down the stairs and heads for the door first.

She opens it, and Stefan almost smiled at her,

when he saw Damon.

Elena had texted him that he was there, but he hadn't checked his phone yet, busy dealing with Alaric,

the undercover vampire-hunter with a stake-shooting rifle!

Long story.

Stefan glanced at Elena as if for an explanation, when Damon speaks up: "Well?" he pushes. It takes Stefan a minute to form an answer.

"…He didn't have it…It was taken," Stefan answers gravely. The three opposite him are confused. Stefan gestures outside, and everybody follows, Emily shutting the door behind them.

"Who took it?!" Damon asks, clearly frustrated. He heads for the swing-couch on the porch, and stands there. The others stop and face one another.

"I don't know. Somebody got to it right before I did," Stefan replies.

"Wait. Let me get this straight. It was in the house, and then the little brat took it," he refers to Jeremy. Both sisters glare at him. "And then he gave it to that super suspicious history teacher. You looked there? You asked him?" Damon affirms.

"**Yes**, Damon," Stefan answers irritably. Elena glances at Emily, almost sure now that at some point during the day, she'd filled Damon in on everything. "He had it, but someone took it from his desk."

"Who?! Who else knew it was there?!"

They all have a think about it,

and reach the same conclusion.

Jeremy.

Damon moves past them to re-enter the house, a determined look in his eyes. Everyone gets on their toes, wary of Damon's reaction. Emily blocks his path. "Damon, no!" she says. Damon tries to move past her. She puts both hands on his chest and adds minimal pressure to keep him in place. He looks down at her irritably. "I'll talk to him," she says.

"What's the big deal? I'm just gonna ask him. **Nicely**," he says, quite obviously being sarcastic.

"Like how you asked Elena this morning?" she raised a displeased brow. He rolls his eyes, and Elena is at least pleased that Emily hadn't over looked that, and was trying to keep it from happening again. Stefan is confused, and now worried by what she meant. "**I **will ask him, okay?" Damon looks irritated, not because she was keeping him from what he wanted to do, but because he could feel her palms against his chest, as well as often finding it hard to break eye-contact with her.

"Fine," he reluctantly gives, backing down. She smiles lightly and nods, thankfully removing her hands.

Damon watches her leave with a strange curiosity.

Stefan is making eye-contact with Elena, both tense and afraid of exposure.

XXX

Jeremy tells Emily that his new friend, Anna, knows about the journal, and that he's to meet her that night at the Grill. Emily tells him she and Damon will drive him there, and they leave Elena and Stefan at the house. It was a one-man job, and Emily was only going to keep Damon from annoying her brother.

"So, how did you and Anna meet?" Emily asks her brother from the front seat. Damon drives his car beside her, and Jeremy is in the back.

"At the library. I was doing that report for Mr. Saltzman, and I bumped into her."

"You haven't seen her at school before?" she asks strangely. The question catches Damon's interest, wondering when this Anna had popped up.

"She's home-schooled," Jeremy says.

"When you said she was weird, what did you mean?" Damon asks. Emily cocks a brow at that, awaiting an answer as well.

"What's with the twenty-four questions?" Jeremy asks suspiciously.

"What do you mean she's weird, Jer?" Emily pushes, sounding concerned. Jeremy rolls his eyes.

"She's just…weird with people…She isn't a very social person. Kinda tries and force us into a friendship, you know. Like she's trying too hard. Plus, she's really into that vampire folklore stuff, and the journal," he explains. Emily and Damon share a glance.

"Huh. That is weird," Emily comments to break the ice.

XXX

They arrive at the Grill, and break off from Jeremy, who stands aside and waits for his 'friend' to show up. He is kind of irritated he is being stalked by Damon and Emily, who said they'd come in for a 'drink.' He ignores them.

At the bar, the two sit. Damon orders a plate of fries, as Emily watches Jeremy from afar, keeping an eye out for the suspicious new girl.

She soon arrives, and Damon looks away with a face of total shock. "What? Do you know her?" Emily asks warily.

"Uh, yeah," he answers in disbelief.

"Who is she?"

"She's…Pearl's daughter…Annabelle…" Emily nods, despite being in the dark.

"And Pearl is…" she draws. Damon faces her, and starts to explain.

"She was a vampire. Friend of Katherine's…She's in the tomb too…" Damon turns to Anna again, as Emily feels as though she'd heard the name before.

She had, in Jonathon Gilbert's journal…

"This makes so much more sense now…" he says. _'I'm not the only one who wants that tomb open…'_

"Pearl…She was Jonathon Gilbert's crush," Emily states. Damon faces her with furrowed brows. She explains. "I read it, in his journal a couple years back. And before you ask, no, I don't remember where the Grimoire is, nor do I think it's location was mentioned at all, but I could be wrong. I don't remember." Damon considers her words and nods, irritated. For a few moments, he thinks, and Emily waits patiently, before finally asking: "So, what are you gonna do? She's a vampire too, right?" Emily soon grows wary of the fact that yet another vampire was near her brother.

The two were harmlessly playing pool, but it became awfully clear that the girl surely had ulterior motives behind the 'friendship.'

"Yeah…I'm gonna have a chat with her, see what she wants, what she's doing here," he replies.

"Now?" Emily retorts.

"No," he gives her a look. "When she's gone. I'll follow her," he explains, picking at the fries on the table. "So what else did the journal mention?"

Emily spends a good ten to fifteen minutes reciting what she remembered. Jonathon's thoughts and feelings regarding the era he lived in, the people he knew,

the things he believed.

As if she'd brought back bad memories, Damon seemed to lose interest, and she quieted for a moment before he suddenly spoke up again with an extreme change of topic.

"So. Alec. That's a funny name," he mentions suddenly. Emily's eyes shoot to his face, completely taken aback.

"Where'd you hear that name?" she asks almost hostile-y. Damon smirks in amusement.

"You didn't tell me you had an ex. Not fair. You know about mine," he states. She tries to believe for a moment that they're actually having this conversation.

"Well…Why should I? I'm not trying to…" she struggles to find the words, "**resurrect** him, like you're doing with yours…So why bring it up?" she irritably asks.

"Ooh. It was that bad, huh?"

"What was?"

"The break up," he takes a sip of the drink he'd ordered.

Her face flushes red in frustration. "We didn't break up. I didn't know him well enough to tolerate a long-distance relationship, so we ended things," she elaborates shortly, taking a large gulp of her banana shake. Damon considers this.

"How long did you know him?" he asks curiously. She faces him again. Apparently, the conversation wasn't over.

"Why do you care?" she questions suspiciously. He fixes himself in the chair to face her properly.

"Well, I thought we were friends, Emily. And if memory serves me right, this is what friends do. Share stuff," he muses humorously, though she could tell he was genuinely interested in hearing the story. She shakes her head and sighs.

"We were only together for a couple of months," she answers.

"Hm. Was he as good-looking as me?" Damon smirks. Emily turns to him, not expecting the question, before she laughed heartedly. Damon grins pleasantly, enjoying the sight of her laughing. She calms down and looks to him.

"Well, I don't wanna feed into your ego, Damon, so I'm gonna say…he was different," she states uncertainly.

"Psh. Just admit it. I'm way cooler," he teases.

"Hm, really? Cause he lacked the part where he was a genocidal maniac, so I don't know," she retorts, causing him to laugh as well.

Her gaze softens on him, in some sorrow.

She feels suddenly as though time was running out.

He was so close to getting what he wanted, she wouldn't see him again…

She'd miss his laugh, his smirk, the way he teased her.

He caught her gaze, one fixed afar, and he somehow knows what she's thinking.

He doesn't like it, doesn't need to hear it.

Yes, he was leaving.

Yes, this was never leading to anything.

Yes, it's been fun,

but no, it won't last.

He diverts his attention to his drink, and she shakes off her thoughts. He turns momentarily to check on Anna, and catches her saying goodbye to Jeremy. He straightens in his seat, and Emily notes the next step. "Okay. Gotta go," he finishes his drink and slides off the chair, looking at Emily. "Tell me when she's out the door." Emily glances at Anna, watching her leave the building.

"She's gone." He gives her a nod, and takes his leave.

The image of departure affirms her fears.

She sighs tiredly, and faces forward.

XXXXX


	21. Chapter 21

Emily and Jeremy take a cab home. Jeremy, who Emily told that Damon had left, notices Damon's car is still outside, and Emily tells him she doesn't know why, despite assuming he went after Anna on foot for stealth.

At the house, Emily notices that Elena and Stefan are both gone. She asks Jenna where they'd gone, and Jenna tells her they'd left cause Stefan was having a 'problem' and Elena was 'helping' him. Jenna also states she thought they were being deliberately vague about it, and assumed that…they were sleeping together, something Emily thought valid, if it weren't for the current situation.

She calls her.

_"Hey. Emily," _Elena picks up after a minute or so, as though she was debating answering.

"Hey. Where are you?" Emily gets to the point.

_"At Stefan's," _Elena replies quickly. Emily squints her eyes. _"We just…wanted to spend some time alone…I'll be back in a bit, okay?"_ she lies reluctantly. Emily partially believes her. She sighs, and closes up with her.

Then she calls Damon, both to check up on him, and to tell him that Stefan was gone. He canceled on her, probably still with Anna. She was kind of worried if he was in trouble, but calmed herself and noted to try again later.

Her, Jenna, and Jeremy are eating dinner, and Jenna asks Jeremy how it went with his 'friend.' Jeremy smiles sheepishly. "Fine. It was cool," he pleasantly replies.

Emily is disturbed by the fact that he was enjoying the company of someone he didn't actually know at all, and so innocently.

She didn't dwell on the topic when Jenna turns to her next. "So. Emily," she calls.

"Yeah?" Emily replies, picking at her half-empty plate.

"Don't yell at me, but I really wanna know…What is the deal with you and Damon?" she asks. The topic catches Jeremy's interest too. Emily immediately frowns, and was about to speak when Jenna quickly cut her off. "I know you said you were just friends…but why."

"Because he's in love with someone else. Okay?" Emily shortly replies. This takes Jenna off guard, and she look profusely confused. Jeremy also furrows his brows.

"That's not what he said," he starts. Emily turns to him perplexedly, then she glares threateningly.

"You **asked** him?!" Jeremy widens his eyes warily.

"I just asked if you guys were a thing, that's it," he elaborates. Emily rolls sighs irritably. Jenna has her lips pursed from both tension and amusement.

"What did he say?"

"He said you're just friends, that's it's him with the issues."

"What?" Emily asks in confusion.

"That, you're not together cause he has issues. And I asked what kinda issues, and he was, 'uh, stuff.'" Emily tries to process, so does Jenna.

"Well. That is the issue. The **other **woman," Emily answers alas, then she sighs somewhat tiredly. "Besides. I don't…we're just friends…" she says, as if trying to convince herself. "And…He's leaving town soon anyways, so…" she shakes her head, then grows quiet, and numb.

"Why?" Jenna asks.

"I don't know…He just is," she lies. Jenna and Jeremy share a look.

"Well. Who cares? There are a ton of other guys out there, and you're a catch, hon," Jenna tries to cheer her up. Emily humors her with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, plus, he's kinda weird, anyways," Jeremy adds. _'You have no idea,'_ Emily smirks.

"Right. Change of topic. Jenna. How was work?" says Emily.

They talk somewhere, and are soon done eating. After piling the dishes in the sink, Emily, who is intent on washing them, decides to call Damon first. She climbs up the stairs to her room with her phone on her ear.

_"What?"_ he picks up, tone irritated.

"Nothing. Are you okay?" she worriedly asks.

_"Fine. Just driving down memory lane…My dad has the Grimoire, in his fucking coffin," _he states, evidently frustrated. Emily's eyes widen in surprise as she enters her room.

"Wow."

_"Yeah. Wow."_

"Are you headed there now?"

_"Yeah."_

"…Do you need some company?" she asks curiously, feeling the need to be there, in his sour mood, to calm him, as if it would earn her something.

_"…Why not? Two minutes, and I'm at your house. Be ready."_

XXX

"Are you okay?" she asks again, seated beside him in the car.

"Why wouldn't I be? I should've expected it'd be him…Always fucking up my life, even from beyond the grave," he raves in annoyance. Emily eyes him sympathetically, then lightly smirks.

"Seems to me like your life's fucked up as is," she says. Damon glances at her irritably at first, then seeing the sympathetic humor in her eyes, he spares a smile.

"I guess that's a fact."

"…So what are we gonna do? Dig up his grave?" she asks, somewhat grimly.

"Pretty much. You just be a dear and hold a light," he says.

"I can help you shovel."

"Yeah. Right," he chuckles. She widens her eyes at him.

"Hey. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't take it personally. I'm ten times faster, and ten times stronger. If anything, you'd slow me down."

"You're are a total jerk, you know that, right?" she scolds. He smirks.

"So I've been told."

They arrive at the cemetery, and exit the car. Damon opens the trunk and brings out a shovel, and a flashlight. He hands it to her, and cradles the shovel, as they start into the woods.

Half way in, Damon pauses. Emily stops as well, and faces him. He has a bewildered look on his face. "What?" she asks him worriedly.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…" he starts hasting forward.

"Damon!" she calls. He ignores her with determined steps as she followed after him.

She sees a light…between the trees, and starts to hear voices.

Her face goes pale, and she halts her tracks, before rushing after Damon again knowingly.

The two appear in a clearing, where, opposite them,

are Stefan and Elena, stood within the dug up grave, with Elena's flashlight aimed…at the Grimoire.

"Well, what do you know?" Damon speaks up, causing the two to whirl around in shock. They stand in haste as Emily appears beside Damon, and Elena is taken aback. "This is an interesting turn of events," Damon bitterly says, lips curling into a snarl. Emily's caution shoots up to a hundred.

This wouldn't end well.

Stefan approaches and stops a few feet opposite Damon, glancing in acknowledgement at Emily.

"I can't let you bring her back," he says almost nonchalantly. Emily eyes him in bewilderment. Why did **he** care whether or not Katherine came back?! "I'm sorry."

"So am I…For thinking for even a **second** that I could trust you…" Damon says, sounding truly heartbroken. Stefan gives him a sarcastic look.

"Oh. You're not capable of trust. The fact that you're here means that you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself!" Stefan retorts.

"Of course I was going to do it by myself, because the only one I can count on is **me**! You made sure of that **many** years ago, Stefan," Damon shoots back heatedly…Emily knows what he means by that, and is greatly disturbed by his current, hurting state. Stefan's expression twists with sudden guilt, then he stands his ground

Damon thinks for a moment…He could tell, Stefan wasn't going to back down…He could see Elena standing warily by the Grimoire…He had to get that book.

He thought about going after her, add a little 'persuasion,'

…then he could hear Emily's shuffling feet beside him, and is suddenly worried how she'd react.

He thinks about Emily herself then…

With half-a-second's decision, he vamp-speeds behind her, placing an arm around her neck to shoulder, shocking her to her very core and causing her to gasp.

Everyone panics.

"Damon! What are you doing?!" she demands, attempting to break free, but his hold is strong, not painful. He gives her shoulder an almost assuring squeeze, which confuses, and doesn't calm her down, as he spoke next.

"Give me the grimoire," he grimly commands.

"You're not gonna hurt her," Stefan shakes his head confidently. Damon cocks a brow.

Stefan hesitates.

Damon bites into his wrist. He forces her lips open, and his sour blood seeps into her mouth. She whimpers in his hold, suddenly fearing the worst, especially with Stefan's widening eyes, and Elena's screams of 'no.'

He then removes his wrist, and Emily gasps for air. "Damon! What've you done?!" she utters horrifically. Damon ignores the pang in his chest, uncertain whether or not Stefan would force his hand.

Would he do it?

Would he really turn her?

"Let her go, Damon. She'll hate you for this." Stefan insists.

"Do you think I fucking care?!" Damon retorts almost automatically. In that moment, with the look of horror on Emily's face, Stefan couldn't actually validate that statement.

"Stefan," Elena pleas, tears of fear breaming her eyes. Damon is content she was a pressure point, as Stefan actually seemed indecisive then.

He momentarily wonders what Emily thought of the unfolding event, and listened into her madly racing hurt.

He felt the slightest hint of guilt,

but ironically still considered this the best course of action.

"All I want, is Katherine…Give me the damn thing!" he shouts. Emily shuts her eyes at the loud voice, grasping at his arm weakly, still attempting to process.

The situation didn't look all that complex,

but Emily had never been more confused,

like she couldn't actually comprehend just what was happening.

"Stefan, just give it to him!" Elena insists.

A heavy minute passes.

Stefan falls back…grabs the grimoire, and places it in surrender, on the ground, opposite Damon…

"Now let her go."

Damon's grasp loosens on her…He pulls back his arm. "Go," he whispers. She exhales, unintentional tears sliding down her cheeks and blood tainting her quivering lips. She walks forward to Stefan's extended hand, and into Elena's urgent, open arms.

She turns between them to see Damon grabbing the grimoire off the ground.

He doesn't look at her, and zooms away.

XXX

"Are you okay?" Elena asks, her arms wrapped around Emily in the backseat of Stefan's car. Emily doesn't reply, staring out the window with an absent gaze. "We tried to tell you…he couldn't be trusted…" Elena says anxiously.

"Like I could trust you," Emily retorts coldly. Elena's brows furrow. Stefan grows tense.

"What?"

Emily snaps to her then.

"Plotting behind my back. Nice," she faces the window again.

"Wh-" Stefan cuts Elena off.

"This isn't her fault, Emily. I told her she couldn't tell you. She thought she was protecting you."

"No. You're right…It's your fault. It's your fault now. As it was back then." Stefan's chest aches. Damon had told her.

"…What are you talking about?" Elena asks in confusion.

"Damon and Stefan knew Katherine was a vampire. Stefan promised Damon he wouldn't tell their father. Then he did," Elena's eyes widen, "Stefan promises Damon he's going to help, and it's a lie. Tell me again, who's not to be trusted, Stef?" Emily mocks bitterly. Stefan sighs from tension.

"I didn't mean for them to take her…I trusted father as much as Damon trusted me…I know what I did was wrong…I destroyed the trust between us," he confesses.

"And your plan to make amends amazes me," Emily smirk sarcastically, facing the window again.

"Why are you defending him? He almost killed you tonight!" Elena exclaims.

"Yeah, I was there!" Emily shoots back.

Elena eyes her in utter confusion. She'd never seen her react like this. It was as if she was in denial.

Stefan catches on to that.

"Katherine is dangerous. She's reckless. If he'd let her out, they'd be a pair to be reckoned with. I couldn't let that happen," Stefan defends his point of view.

"You know what? Whatever," she shakes her head.

The car grows silent.

No one else knows what to say.

No one speaks again.

XXX

Stefan drops them off at the house, and takes his leave.

Emily climbs the stairs, and slams the door to her bedroom shut.

Elena sighs from extreme tension.

She climbs up after her, and attempts to get her talking. Emily tells her she's tired, as she makes her bed, and readies for fake sleep.

Elena lets her be.

As Emily steps out of the bathroom in her pjs, and is fixing the bed, her eyes catch sight of a figure, and she looks to see Damon at the window.

Hellfire burns within her eyes.

Damon knows what's coming.

He raises his hands. "Let me exp-"

"You lying!" she charges at him, shoving him hard in the chest. "Backstabbing!" he attempts to grab her flailing arms.

"Em-"

"Son of a bitch!" He finally restrains her, and walks her into the wall beside them, parting her legs with his to keep her immobile. "Let me go, or I'll scream!" she threatens. Damon gives her a look.

"You're not gonna-"

"HEEL-" he cuts her off with a hand on her mouth.

"Seriously?!" he retorts. She mumbles incomprehensively between his grasp. "What's that? Can't understand you," he teases. Her mumbles grow louder, and she is eyeing him menacingly. He rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna remove my hand, and if you scream…I'll kiss you," he smirks. She eyes him in frustrated confusion. He slowly removes his hand. She remains firmly silent, uncertain if he was serious. Damon inhales, expression hardening. "I wasn't gonna do it," he tells. She scoffs.

"Right."

"Come on. We're partners. Why would I turn on you?!"

"Because you don't fucking care. That's what you said, wasn't it?!"

"I was bluffing!"

"Yeah?! Your brother, who's known you for a hundred years! Didn't think you were."

"He's too emotional to think clearly under pressure…I thought you knew I was lying…" he says, tone softening with the last statement.

She looked away, as though trying, but failing, not be affected by his untrustworthy words.

Damon lets her go, but is still inches apart from her, trying to catch her eyes. "Look, it was either you, or your sister," he says half-sarcastically. Emily snaps to him. "You wouldn't have liked it if I'd gone after her…But I figured, with you…" he locks his gaze with hers intently. "You'd get it…" he says.

Emily absorbs his words, wanting, yet refusing, to believe them, at the same time.

When he sees her slumping, and eyes dropping to the floor, he could tell she was coming around.

He'd said all he could, he was reluctant to come from the start, and he sure as hell wasn't straight out apologizing.

He steps back, snapping her out of her processing.

He heads back to the window.

She opened her mouth with uncertain words to stop him,

before she shut it again,

and he left.

XXXXX


	22. Chapter 22

"Emily…I was just going to call you…" Stefan says as he answered the front door of his house. Emily furrows her brows.

"You were?" she asks.

"Yeah," he crosses his arms. "Elena hasn't been to school, and she hasn't been answering her phone." Emily's expression calms to one with knowledge.

"Yeah. That's actually why I'm here…" Stefan's brows furrow. Concern reappears on Emily's face as she clutched the strap of her handbag anxiously.

XXX

"I looked everywhere. At the school, at the Grill, even the cemetery. I called all her friends…." Emily explains from within Jenna's car, the one she'd borrowed for the day. They are driving around town. It was around three pm. Elena seemed missing since that morning, and Jeremy and Jenna assumed she was at school, but then Jeremy told Emily she wasn't, and she had to go there herself and ask around. She looked around town…Nothing…

"Did you try Bonnie?" Stefan asks from beside her.

"Yeah. She isn't answering either. I tried her, like, **seven** times!" she says frantically. Stefan inhales deeply.

"Okay. Calm down…Drive to Bonnie's grandmother's house, Sheila. She can help," he suggests.

"Help how?!"

"She's a witch," Emily seemed to have forgotten that in her worked up state. "She can try a locater spell," he says. She nods along, fully focused, and now somewhat at ease.

Emily turns and starts heading into the required direction.

After a few minutes of silence, Stefan speaks up.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Worried. Very worried," she answers. Stefan lightly smirks.

"No. Obviously. I meant…" she already begins catching onto what he meant, her gaze losing interest, "about what happened with Damon, last night."

Emily recalls the night before…She is uncertain what to say,

less so what to think…

What did she think?

She wanted to believe he was being truthful…that he was never intent on hurting her…that he truly never would have done it…But how could she be sure?

Should she?

She had to remember…the things he'd done…

How could she just overlook…everything else he'd done?

She realized she'd been grasping at every little spick of good deed she'd seen him do, and she'd keep forgetting that he'd lived a hundred years before her…

But she didn't want to think that way either…

"I'm fine…" she simply gave. "He told me he was never gonna do it, so that's that."

Stefan's brows furrow.

"When did he say that?"

"He came to me, at the house."

"…He…apologized?"

"Not exactly. He said he thought I knew he was bluffing…He didn't say much…"

Stefan takes this in…

He is greatly confused.

"For him to…even bother…" he thinks out loud. Emily's heart jumps. She glances at Stefan.

"You think he was telling the truth?" she asks, sounding hopeful. Stefan faces her. He didn't want to falsely assure her.

"…I…can never tell with Damon…It's just…"

"That he bothered," Emily finishes for him. Stefan reluctantly nods. Emily sighs from the tension in her tangled thoughts and feelings. "You shouldn't have betrayed his trust Stefan…Not again."

"I was doing it **for** him…She's. She's not good for him, Emily."

"You don't think I **know** that?!" she retorts angrily. Stefan eyes her strangely. "He told me what kind of person she was…But he can't help how he feels…If he needs to see her again to see for himself all he **shouldn't** have missed, then so be it…And if he's finally convinced, he just might let us kill her," Emily lets slip half-seriously. Stefan cocks a brow at her, then smirks.

"You rooting for that outcome?" he asks humorously. Emily gives him a dismissive look, smirking as well.

A moment of silence passes, Stefan squirming uncomfortably in his seat. He then faces her. "…I'm sorry…" he says. She furrows her brows. "For making Elena lie to you…I never wanted to get between you two. You have a very strong bond, and it should stay that way."

"…Apology accepted, Stefan," Emily assures. Stefan smiles contently.

The rest of the car ride is short, with a quiet struggle of concern regarding Elena's whereabouts, till they finally arrive at Sheila's.

They exit the car, and head towards the one-story house. Emily knocks, and they are soon greeted by the owner. An aged, dark woman stood opposite them, and smiled warmly at each. "Emily. Stefan. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asks. The two smile in retort.

"Hi, grams," says Emily.

"Hello, Sheila," Stefan greets. Emily finds it weird that Stefan knew her name. She hadn't actually heard anyone call her that in a long time. "We need your help."

XXX

Sheila invited them in, and didn't ask many question about how Emily knew of vampires, or Elena for that matter.

Regardless, she seats Emily down, and uses her blood to track down Elena through a map of the town, a scene that fills Emily with a mixture of combined feelings including amazement, curiosity, and a slight fear from the unknown. She began to wonder at what limits there were to magic; what **couldn't **witches do?

Sheila then does the same with something of Bonnie's, managing to prove that both girls were together at the Gates Motel.

Stefan borrows the car from Emily, and tells her to stay behind lest there be danger, something she was greatly against, but him rushing out the door didn't give her much of a chance to argue.

XXX

"Don't be so restless, child," says Sheila, placing a tray of tea on the living room table. She sits by Emily's side, and the Gilbert stops tapping her foot, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans before flashing a forced smile at Sheila.

"I'm just worried, that's all."

"I know you are…Let me get your mind off of it…How long have you known?" she asks curiously.

"About…all of this? A while. A few years…I never saw anything till my first college year…Even then I wasn't sure…But I guess…Damon and Stefan removed all and any remaining doubts," she chuckles nervously.

"I suppose they did," Sheila smirks.

Emily starts a conversation with Sheila about witches, specifically her, and when she started getting her powers.

Their conversation only lasts a few minutes when the doorbell rings.

Emily jumps off the couch, with Sheila following after.

She opens the door, and furrows her brows un-expectantly. "Damon? What are you doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing," he retorted, looking just as confused.

"Can we help you?" Sheila asks, evident distaste in her tone. Damon plasters on a smile.

"Hi there. I'm looking for Bonnie," he politely says.

"She's not here," Sheila tells strictly. Emily faces her perplexedly.

"Oh, well do you know when she-"

"Never," Sheila cuts off.

"Grams," Emily calls, eyeing her strangely. Sheila ignores her. Damon purses his lips, impatient. He smirks bitterly.

"You have quite an opinion for someone who doesn't know me," he says.

"You got some nerve knocking on a Bennett witch's door and asking her for anything." Damon looks at Emily, who looks at him as though he'd been busted. She decides to cut in, and steps outside the door.

"What'd I do?" Damon asks in confusion. Emily grabs his arm.

"Okay. Time to go," she smiles sheepishly and starts pulling him back. He eyes them both perplexedly.

"Emily. He's-"

"I'm on vervain. I'll be okay. Bye, Grams," she manages to guide Damon away as he realizes he wasn't going to find what he wanted there.

"What's her problem?" he asks irritably, Emily walking him to his car.

"You bit her granddaughter, remember?" Emily answers.

"That? Seriously?" they stop and she stands opposite him with her back to his car.

"Yeah, some people take that sorta stuff seriously, Damon. Especially when they can't just guess why you do what you do," she says, tone cold as she crossed her arms. Damon studies her for a moment, then smirks.

"Are you still mad at me?" he muses. She raises a brow.

"Hm," she smirks fake-ly. "I need a ride," she says.

"And I need to find a Bennet witch," he retorts.

"I don't care. You can do that later. Your 'upset' friend here is asking you for a favor," she shoots back, glaring at him daringly. He glares back, then nears her. She stands her ground, unfazed. Stefan had made her almost certain of the honesty behind Damon's 'apology' from the night before. He didn't scare her anymore; there was no need for her to be afraid around him, unless she wasn't his target.

He listens to her heart. It doesn't jump…He smirks.

"Alright. Hop in."

XXX

"Where **do** you wear your vervain?" he asks curiously, inside the car in the driver's seat. He hadn't started the car yet. She faced him, and raises an amused brow.

"I'll never tell," she smirks. He gives her a 'really' look.

"Do you drink it?" he persists.

"Maybe," she vaguely gives. He shakes his head, chuckling.

"So where to?" he asks, starting the car.

"Gates Motel," she answers from beside him.

He pauses, and turns to her.

"Why do you wanna go there?" She cocks a brow at him.

"Why do you **think** I wanna go there?" she retorts. Damon studies her for a moment, squinting his eyes at her suspiciously.

"You spill first," he says. Emily sighs irritably.

"We don't have time for this. Will you just drive, and I'll explain along the way."

He continues to eye her, not moving, as if pressuring her into fessing up.

"Damon!" she gestures to the car-wheel in some haste. Noting she was being serious, and that something was happening, he gives in, and starts the car. She lets out a breath of relief.

"Talk," Damon pushes.

"…Elena's missing," she somewhat hesitantly replies. The mention of his brother's partner, the brother who double-crossed him, sets a frown to his face. Emily knew he didn't want to hear about her, but Stefan wouldn't let her tag along, and she was doing nothing useful sitting around at Sheila's, it was driving her crazy. Damon faces her and raises a brow. "She has been since last night, and I've looked all over for her…Eventually, I started to suspect it was…something vampire-related, so I went to Stefan. Thought he might know, and cause I knew you wouldn't wanna help me find her."

"You guessed right," Damon retorts coldly. She eyes him irritably. "What makes you think she's at the motel?"

"Locator spell. Why are you being so weird about that place?"

"It's where that Anna girl is staying," he replies. "Where I followed her to last night." Emily's eyes widen.

"So it **is** vampire-related!"

"Apparently, most of your problems are."

"This is just fucking great!" she exclaims angrily. Damon raises a brow at her, not expecting an outburst. "I'm so…useless!" Damon faces her in confusion. "They're too strong! They're too fast! I never see them coming! All that work at the gym, and what do I get?! Attacked. Almost bitten, **several** times!...I can't protect anyone…I'm…" she sighs, speechless and fairly upset, with an escalated heartrate. Damon feels a pushy urge to say something, hopefully useful.

"I could always turn you," he offers, half-seriously. She snaps to him.

"Stop it with that. I told you already-"

"Told me that you were afraid of hurting someone. Bullshit. This way, you can actually fight back." He was definitely serious now.

The offer was **so** compelling in that moment.

He could almost hear her weighing it.

She then faces him.

"And who would teach me self-control if you're gone? You just gonna turn me and let me deal?!" she asks harshly. Damon's face twists with annoyance at the constant mention of that topic.

"Stefan could teach you," he retorts. "Granted, it'll be squirrels for breakfast. But still," he says, despite being greatly against Stefan's lifestyle; it made him weak, and he knew it would make Emily weak to follow his ways, but not weaker than she already claimed she was feeling.

"…I don't trust him like I trust you…"

Damon's face goes blank.

It just came out, even she was surprised at hearing it,

because they both knew that partially wasn't true,

but were sure she was hoping it was real.

She turns her face to the window, not knowing what to say after that. She thought of negating it, but didn't want to…Maybe she wanted him to believe it.

…Did **he** want to believe it?

He glances at her, then faces the road again with a clenched jaw.

Ironically, he also didn't know what to say.

They arrive shortly at the motel. The town was small, and owning a car made most destinations minutes apart.

Upon arrival, she sees Elena and Bonnie rushing out of a motel room. She quickly climbs out of the car, but Damon doesn't move. He remains in his seat, watching as Emily ran to her sister, taking her into her arms protectively, despite feeling powerless to actually protect anyone.

He then sees his brother follow after them calmly, knowing then that he was safe, not a scratch on his face. It annoys Damon; he was hoping Stefan would get his butt kicked, at least a little,

but deep, deep down,

he was relieved his brother was still breathing.

Without another word, he pulls out, and drives away.

Emily hears the car move, and watches him take off.

She doesn't give it much attention, turning back to her sister and her friend.

XXX

"So, what do we do now?" asks Elena, stepping into Sheila's dining room with Stefan and Emily at either of her sides.

"For now, you need to stay here," Stefan replies, standing opposite them.

In the car, the four had shared information. Bonnie and Elena explained that Anna and Ben wanted Bonnie to perform a spell from the Grimoire to open the tomb. But they didn't have the Grimoire, Damon did. Anna thought it was Stefan, and tried to use Elena to get it from him, as well as to pressure Bonnie into preforming the spell when necessary.

When Stefan didn't answer, she called Damon, who told her knowingly that she had nothing to bargain with. Hearing so, Anna soon returned to check on the motel, to find her captives missing, and her partner beneath a bed, hiding from the sun.

"A prisoner, in my own home? I don't think so," says Sheila.

"I can't protect you if you leave the house," Stefan warns.

"We'll protect ourselves," she retorts. Emily finds that amusing.

If it were true, Bonnie wouldn't have gotten caught. If witches were so badass, she and Elena would've already escaped.

But Emily forgot to recognize that Bonnie was a fresh, practically untrained witch.

The group begins to think on solutions to the tomb issue…They could just **not** open it, but that would mean a target on the back of Bennetts till it was, and the biggest threat being Damon, who was hell-bent on opening that tomb.

"Maybe if we just let him get what he wants, this all stops," suggests Elena, glancing at Stefan. Emily likes the sound of that.

"No. He doesn't deserve to get what he wants," says Bonnie bitterly from her seat in the dining table. Emily eyes her angrily. Bonnie notices her glance, and doesn't get a chance to comment when Elena replies:

"What other choice do we have?"

"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we tried to do to stay out of it," says Sheila tiredly, glancing at her granddaughter meaningfully. She then looks to Stefan. "I'll open the tomb. You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."

"We still have to get Damon to agree," he says.

"I'll deal with that," says Emily confidently, then she approaches Stefan, a determined look in her eyes. "And since I'm obviously not trusted with…ulterior plans," she says pointedly. "If this goes another way…and he kills someone…It'll be on you." Stefan eyes her intensely, a troubled look on his face.

He gives her a firm nod.

Half-satisfied, Emily walked back out into the living room and dialed his number as the others watched.

_"What?"_ he answers with an irritated tone. Her brows furrow.

"Are you okay?" she asks worriedly.

_"I'm fine. Is there something you want?"_ he asks as if impatiently. She raises a confused brow.

"What's with the attitude?" she asks.

_"Will you just cut to the point,"_ Damon pushes. Emily is both confused, and now a little pissed. She straightens.

"Yeah. I'm coming over. There's something you need to hear," she grabs her bag off the couch and exits the house, not wanting to be overheard.

_"I'm really not in the mood fo-"_

"Okay, bye," she hangs up, buffing air from her nose as she pulled out her car keys.

XXXXX


	23. Chapter 23

She knocks. He doesn't reply. She knocks again. No answer. She bangs her fist against the door. Nothing. She sighs tiredly, thinking maybe he wasn't home.

But he would've mentioned that on the phone, would have made more sense.

…Could he be ignoring her?

…She opens her bag,

and pulls out a bobby pin.

She kneels down, and inserts it into the lock.

Damon, who was lounging on his couch with a drink in hand, ignoring her indeed, he hears her toying with the door, furrows his brows, and straightens.

He listens.

If it were a key, she'd have been in already.

…Was she…

Was she seriously **picking** the **lock**?!

He gets up, and opens the door abruptly, causing her to fall back in shock, but hold herself up by a hand as he stared down at her in bewilderment.

"Are you kidding me?!" he asks. She sighs and gets off the floor, dusting herself as she shoved the pin back in her bag.

"Why are you ignoring me?!" she demands.

"So you **can** take a hint," he says, sipping his drink and walking back into the house.

"Damon!" she calls, shutting the door as she followed. "What is your problem?!"

"I don't have a problem," he starts, placing the glass down on a cabinet as he faced her. "You do." She raises a brow and crosses her arms. "Somehow…You think we're friends…or lovers…or, whatever that goes on in your head," her heart grows heavy at the unexpected accusations, and aches at his cold, mock-filled tone. "Well, newsflash, we're **not**!"

…

…

She is attempting to process his out-of-the-blue hostility.

She is uncertain why he was being this way.

…He himself is uncertain…All he knew, was that this, whatever it is between them, can't go on, for both their sakes.

Ironically…

…He was trying…**not** to hurt her…cause he knew for certain…that him leaving would, far more than not caring to miss him.

Maybe he was doing this for himself too.

Maybe he didn't want the slightest moment, of missing her. He didn't want it.

Somehow…that's exactly what she deduces, to a point…She has a feeling it had to do with what she'd said in the car, the last thing she said…Apparently, it freaked him out.

_'You're such an idiot,'_ she regarded him as.

"Wow. Okay. First of all. This may be, like, our last conversation, and not because of you being a **five**-year-old right now, but because of the **main** reason I came, so." He raises a brow. " Just take that into consideration, and lets not end this 'partnership,'" she makes mock quotes in the air, "like **this**. Okay? I don't have to remember you as the jerk who…" _'broke my heart…'_ she completely and utterly refuses to humor her stupid heart, and say that. "As a jerk" she gives instead. Emily takes a calming breath. "…And finally…We convinced Bonnie to do the spell for you."

Damon wasn't expecting that.

"…We who?" he asks in confusion.

"We, as in myself, your brother, my sister, Bonnie, who was very reluctant by the way, and her grams," she explains. Damon nods along.

"Right," he smirks, turning away. "Like I'm gonna fall for that."

"Yeah, you should, cause you see." She approaches him and looks him straight in the face. "It's not just Stefan who wants you out of town now. It's Elena, for what you did to me last night." He turns to her at that, as though she'd hit a nerve. "It's Bonnie, for attacking her in the woods. It's Bonnie's **grandmother** for **all** the trouble you've caused since you came into town!" she says, voice unintentionally escalating. Damon's gaze is fixed intently on hers then…For some reason, a not-entirely-relevant question crosses his thoughts.

"…Yeah?...And you want me gone too, don't you?"

…

"…Yes…"

Damon felt as though he took a punch to the gut.

He didn't expect it, nor did he think it would sound so…sour.

"I do…but not because you hurt me…" she says, tone softening with sorrow. His brows furrow in confusion…She grows silent, and he wouldn't have it.

"Then why?" he asked plainly.

_'Why?...__**Why**__?'_ she mocked, as though he ought to know why.

…Did **she**?

As if the worst timing possible,

she realized why,

just then.

She'd been denying it for so long,

and now it decides to make itself known,

the fact that…she cared about him…she **liked** being around him…she **liked** how he made her feel about herself, and

despite everything he'd done…

she liked **him**.

…She wanted to tell him that, all of that…

but what good would it do?

"…It doesn't matter…" she decides, tearing her gaze from his.

"Yes, it does." He unintentionally nears her.

He had to know, despite strongly believing that he also didn't **want** to.

She takes a step back in reluctance. "No, it doesn't!" she says, tone harsh. She then faces him. "Do you know why?! Cause you're going either way! So, no!...It **doesn't** matter…"

He feels his stomach twist in a form of guilt, and his heart stubbornly ache.

He didn't want to leave…

but he wanted Katherine more…

and in no way was he giving up years of waiting, this close to what he wanted now, that whole time…for someone like Emily…

Someone who…He didn't even want to think it…

The sound of her sniffing back tears snaps him out of it. She gulps to clear her voice as she spoke plainly. "…I won't be there when they open it, so, this is goodbye…"

…She turns, headed for the door.

He starts to panic,

and feels the incredible urge to do something,

to stop her.

He does.

In a blink, he's opposite her, blocking her path. She is taken aback, and sighs irritably at the ill-timed shock.

He had to say something.

What?

A memory flashed before his eyes,

of their conversation just that morning, in the car…

and how she'd left before he could get a word in…how he couldn't find the right words then…

yet somehow,

in that moment,

he did,

and he had to say them,

she had to hear them,

before it was too late…

She could see the struggle of his mental debate, yet was patient to hear what he had to say. He finally speaks up. "…You're not useless…or weak…or powerless…" he says. Her eyes widen in un-expectance. "You've survived everything you've been through so far, and that counts for something…"

…

She takes in his words,

absorbs his sudden change of tone, and attitude towards her.

Slowly, she nods, somehow fully aware how he was feeling, **fully** aware…

of **everything** he left unsaid.

She feels a lump grow in her throw, and tears of both sorrow and relief well up in her eyes. She faces the floor, refusing to show it, but he sees regardless, and tenses up for a minute,

before he sighs as if in understanding.

Surprising them both, he acts on instinct, and pulls her into him wordlessly.

Of course, the gesture causes her tears to stream down.

His embrace was as emotionally painful as it was soothing.

He has one hand around her waist firmly, and the other tangled in her hair, his chin atop her head as he let the moment stand for a reason he could not comprehend.

When she brings her arms up and around him, it was like she'd walked into his cold, caged heart, bearing a warmth he'd almost forgotten. His brows furrowed as if painfully, and his eyes slid shut.

After a moment, when she felt she'd calmed down, she didn't linger any longer, didn't want room to be made for thoughts about an ending, didn't want to acknowledge it.

She pulls away, and he is both reluctant and relieved that the moment had passed. She flashes him a smile before saying: "…I should get going…" her tone is somewhat urgent, but there was something else she feels the need to say, despite not actually, entirely meaning it…

but she says it for him…

for the sake of that unwanted goodbye…

"I really hope you find what you want, Damon…"

His heart skips a beat, and he gives her an almost dissatisfied nod.

…She takes her leave.

XXXXX


	24. Chapter 24

_"Hey,"_ says Elena.

"Hey," answers Emily, sitting at the edge of her bed. She'd entered her room to answer the call that night. "How'd it go?" she urgently asked.

_"…It…didn't go so well," _Elena replies. Emily's brows furrow.

"What happened?" she worriedly asked.

_"We managed to open the tomb…Things got complicated, and that Anna girl came out with her mom, then Damon and Stefan. And Grams and Bonnie resealed the tomb…but…he couldn't find her…_

_ He couldn't find Katherine…"_

…

Emily is uncertain of what she'd heard.

"He…didn't find her? Damon didn't find Katherine?" she asks for confirmation.

_"Yeah…He looked…devastated."_

…

Emily attempts to process what she was being told,

but is quickly concentrating all her focus on Damon…and the fact that he was devastated…

in so, things become gravely clear.

"Oh my god," she Emily, the situation just setting in.

For what little time she'd known Damon, all he'd ever wanted to achieve, all he'd ever wanted in general, was to get that one woman back into his life…

For that to suddenly…

"Wh-what do you mean? She wasn't there?" Emily repeats.

_"Stefan says she was never there to begin with…they just didn't know…She never needed saving…"_

"…Oh my god…"

It was worst than she thought…

"…Do…Where is he? Where are you?"

_"I'm at Bonnie's. Her Grams looked really worn down by the spell. Stefan left. I think he went to look for Damon…I…also think you should call him."_

…Emily's expression changes to one of determination.

"Okay. Let me call you back."

_"Okay."_

She hangs up, brings out Damon's number anxiously.

…Her button freezes atop the call button…

She remembered, in ill-time, the way they'd ended things just then…how neither were intent on seeing the other again…

What if he was already gone?

What good would calling him do? For either of them, if all they wanted to do, is to try and forget one another?

She brushed off all ifs.

She pushed the button, and brought the phone to her ear with a foot tapping nervously the carpet laid beneath her bed.

…It rings…

Damon, who was downing the contents of a tequila bottle, he put the bottle down on the surface of the closed grand piano, and fished his phone out from his pocket absent-mindedly.

The caller id catches his interest, and for several seconds, he debates answering.

He didn't want to talk to anyone.

Didn't want to see anyone.

Didn't want to talk.

Talk about what?

All he acknowledged, was a greatly upset stomach, an aching heart, and racing, incomprehensible thoughts revolving around one impossible revelation.

…Never had he felt so lost.

…But…her name, on the phone…it called to him, quite literally too, and he felt the need to pick up, so he did.

Emily's heart jumps at the reply.

He doesn't say anything though, just has the phone up, as if waiting for her to speak first, or not waiting for anything at all,

perhaps something to affirm all that had gone down as a prank.

"Damon…are you there?" she warily asks.

He wants to speak, but words escape him.

What would he say?

What in the world would he say?

Well, maybe answer her question for a start.

But he doesn't need to.

"…I don't think…there's anything I can say…to make this in any way better, Damon…" she says. His brows furrow as if in pain, and he purses his lips, fighting back those god forsakenly stubborn tears. "…How about I come over?" she offers out of the blue.

She wasn't actually considering it till she'd said it. But why not? Despite assuming he wouldn't wanna 'talk it out,' she felt confident that her presence would bring him some ease, if only minimal.

Damon took in her suggestion. "You're at home, right? So, how about I come over…Just," _'be there for you,'_ "…you know," she resorted to saying instead.

…He knows…Yeah he knows.

He could hear Stefan's car drive in outside.

_"No,"_ he finally replied.

Emily furrows her brows in some disappointment, before he said: _"I'm coming," _instead. Her eyes widen in surprise, and he hangs up before she could get a word in. _'That could work too,'_ she supposed.

Emily gets to her feet, and tidies up her room a bit. Fixing her set up pillow, and closing the laptop screen on her nightstand. She grabs the clothes on her chair, balls them up, and tosses them into her closet, turning at just the right moment to spot Damon, sitting at the edge of her bed.

She pauses, acknowledges his presence for a moment, then begins to think over something to say, as he seemed intent on remaining quiet, gaze afar, and seemingly unaware of his surroundings. She mulls it over as she made way to sit at his side.

He felt the bed slightly dip as she settled down, her shoulder resting against his, and her gaze fixed on him before it turned to the ground in thought.

For a moment, neither said a word.

Emily actually considered asking him if he wanted to 'talk about it,' but was near certain he'd mock her, or say nothing at all.

Instead, she asked: "What happened?" despite already knowing the answer.

Her tone was soft, but her question was not simple.

"Hmh," Damon smirks grimly. "What happened?" he repeated quietly, in a cold sarcasm.

At least it got him talking.

"…I was an idiot…that's what…" he said. Emily eyed him sympathetically. Was it idiocy, for a man to be so deeply in love, with such loyalty?

To Emily, it sure as hell wasn't.

Damon got to his feet, and made way to her desk. He placed his palms against it surface, grasping at its edges firmly till his knuckles grew white.

He felt he was breaking. It was as if his heart was physically sinking into him, sinking into a raging fire that grew larger by the second suddenly, as though he'd activated it somehow, again.

He was a second away from breaking the desk with immense physical strength, when he felt her hand on his shoulder. She slid beneath his arm and stood between him and the desk to catch his eyes. She grasped his face and tried to get him to face her as he stubbornly refused to show his cold tears falling. "Damon," she softly called, tone intentionally reassuring.

He finally looked up, but his gaze remained low. She cradled his face between her warm palm, a look of pain in her own eyes, for him. She was in pain for him.

She did what she felt was right, and embraced him. She lay his head on her shoulder, keeping both hands atop as she massaged it. Damon breathed out sharply, as if it hurt to resist the pain much longer. He brought his arms around her needingly, accidently pushing her back onto the desk. She was quick to climb it, and instead had his face against her chest. She hugged him affectional, her cheek against his ever-soft, inky hair, and he held her tightly, crying heartedly, and as quietly as he could, into her chest, her audibly comforting, beating heart.

Seeing him this way truly hurt her, especially him because, she was so used to him being tough, or refusing to show pain, but for him to fall apart this way, it was a horrible thing to witness,

yet, at the same time, she was somewhat content.

Content that…he wasn't hiding from her…that he chose to come to her…that he was letting her be there for him…that she felt she was actually helping…

After several intense minutes, he calmed somewhat, and pulled back. He sought her eyes, and fixed where he found them, letting their foreheads touch. He could feel her breath against his nose and lips. He leaned in, and erased whatever distance was left between them with a kiss. Emily's thoughts simply vanished, and her head started to spin when Damon deepened the kiss and consumed her lips passionately. She was completely absorbed by the sweet, urgent sensation he filled her with from head to toe as she wrapped her arms around his back to bring him closer. Then he cradled her head in one hand, and began trailing kisses down her neck leisurely. She sighed in intense pleasure, but releasing her lips and allowing her breath also made way for some of her awareness to return.

_'This isn't right,'_ she thought, her heart rate increasing in some distraught. "Damon," she called, but it was very hard for her to concentrate as he sucked on the side of her neck. She tried to push him back, and attempted to pull up his face, but she couldn't find the strength to do much of anything, her knees growing weak.

He loved the way she tasted, and started to actually crave a taste of her blood as well, but was snapped out of it when she said: "Damon, look at me." He absent-mindedly complies, not minding the soft request. It took her a few seconds to re-gather her thoughts, as it was fairly difficult to think when looking into his grey-blue eyes.

"Damon…Don't…Don't make things weird between us," she says. Damon processes what she'd said in vagueness, before finally understanding it, the idea awfully negative. "Just…let me…be here for you…"

Yes. That's what he wanted.

But he also wanted to kiss her again, felt he needed to.

Oh he had no idea how much she wanted the same, and how hard it was to push him away.

She decides to brush aside the idea altogether.

"What do you say we go for a walk?" she suggests.

The air was cool at night, and it was late enough that the streets would almost be their own. The open air and night sky were naturally therapeutic. But Damon honestly wasn't up for it. "I don't wanna walk," he shook his head. She lightly smiled.

"You look tired," she affirmed. He felt tired. "How about you get some sleep?"

"I don't wanna sleep." It was more of a matter of capability. He didn't think he **could** ever shut his mind up about what had happened, certainly not to sleep.

…It was quiet enough when they were kissing though.

He refrained from making another move on that as she said: "Then how about you just…lie down with me?…Just lie down."

He takes it into consideration.

He was tired.

He felt tired.

He liked the sound of her offer, especially the part where she'd be there, because being alone meant he'd think, and he didn't want that.

She sees him mull it over. He doesn't decline, so she slides off the desk, takes him by the hand, and guides him to her bed.

He kicked off his shoes and placed his head back on her pillow. Being physically straightened felt incredibly relieving. She shut the light, and followed beside him, then pulled the blanket on top of them.

She fixes it caringly on him, and he turns on his side to face her as she lies down, as if seeking her out for comfort.

Face to face, she lightly smiles at him, putting him at some ease.

Two minutes pass, and Emily decides to ask: "How are you feeling?" Damon absorbs her question. As if it had triggered his thoughts again, he inhales sharply.

"…Like I'm gonna kill somebody," he says, only half-sarcastic. Deciding to take it as a joke, Emily grins, causing him to spare a smirk. His gaze then drifts, and he turns onto his back, facing the ceiling with his arm on his head. Emily studied him carefully, calculating her next words, but there is no need; he speaks first. "A hundred and seventy years…wasted trying to save someone who never needed saving," he buffs air from his nose, as though trying to smoke out the fire in his chest. Emily frowns at the fact. "After I found out she wasn't in there…I went after Annabelle…I saw her getting back with her mom, and I just snapped." Emily gets greatly concerned at that, wondering what he'd done. "But then she told me that…she'd seen Katherine…Nineteen eighty three…Chicago…Said she knew where I was…and that she just didn't care…" he bitterly said.

Emily takes in the story, listening intently.

"Stefan said she used to compel him to love her…but she never compelled me…never had to…" Damon feels tears well up in his eyes again, and exhales irritably. Emily has never loathed someone she'd never actually met before,

but she absolutely hated Katherine Pierce.

"…What the hell do I do now?" Damon continues, thinking his depressed thoughts out loud. Emily acknowledges the question, fixes herself up on her elbow, and speaks her mind carefully.

"This…might not be…the best time," she starts. Damon faces her curiously. "…but…just take into consideration that…you're finally free…" she says in all seriousness, optimistically.

Damon takes this in. He doesn't know how to feel about it, let alone what it really means.

"…You can finally…look after yourself…look **for** yourself…Do what you want…Find…what's good for you," she explains. Damon faces the ceiling again.

"After what?" he asks in despair.

"What does it matter, Damon? You're immortal…" she lightly smirks. Her words fall un-cared for. "Look. I know you won't actually be able to think this way right now, but I just need you to be sure that this isn't the end of things…It's just another beginning."

He finally faces her.

That, he could understand.

Even though it seemed impossible to believe, the idea, the mention, that this indeed **wasn't** an end…and the way she was looking at him as he searched her eyes for the assuring confidence behind her words…The thing he felt certain of, at least in that moment, was that he wasn't alone…and it might have been the only thing that made what she'd said somewhat believable.

He gets on his side again, and she puts her head back down on her pillow. They each inch a little closer to one another, persistently, till eventually they just pull in and embrace one another once more.

Sleep was minutes away then.

XXXXX


	25. Chapter 25

When she wakes up, he's gone.

She doesn't call, doesn't try and find out where he went. She knows he needs time…and maybe space…

Elena returns, and informs the household of Sheila's unexpected death, and the funeral Bonnie, who was heartbroken, and her father were preparing.

When they are alone, Elena re-informs Emily of the prior night and everything that had happened in detail, obviously needing to talk through the unexpected event with someone.

To think, only yesterday, Emily and Sheila were talking.

The idea that someone suddenly, simply, wasn't there any more…It wasn't foreign to either of the Gilberts…

They both knew how Bonnie must be feeling. They understood her pain better than most, and were very intent on being there for her through the whole thing.

XXX

The following day was the funeral, and after that, Bonnie was off to her aunt's, in need of time and space.

Two days later, and Emily hasn't heard a word from Damon.

She didn't push (even though she madly wanted to call him up). He needed as much space and time as the Bennett did. Maybe more.

That morning, she was driving Jenna's car, to Grove Hill, Virginia, with Elena beside her.

Jenna had informed Elena that she'd dug a little deeper about her past, like she'd asked her to. Elena's father, Grayson, had kept everything from his medical practice. Records, logs, old appointment books. Jenna found an entry in his journal about the night Elena was born, the patient he admitted, and her birth date. Isobel Peterson.

Being a pregnant teenage runaway, it probably wasn't her real name, at least not the last one. Jenna did however look up that last name, Peterson, that was present in the area and born the same year Isobel was. Aside from three men, she found one woman matching the name. A Trudie Peterson. She showed Elena a picture of Trudie, and her high school friend…Isobel…They were cheerleaders, something that brought a smile to Elena's face, for she was one too once.

There was something else Jenna was reluctant to tell Elena of, but eventually decided she ought to. Turns out, she'd found out, with the frequent amount of times she'd met up with the charming history teacher, Alaric Saltzman, that his wife's name was also Isobel…and that she died.

She was killed, and the case was never solved.

…There was a reason Alaric was in town…a reason he was a vampire-hunter undercover…He'd told Stefan, that night the Salvatore went to find the Gilbert Journal, that his wife, who was a parapsychologist, spent her life researching paranormal activity in Mystic Falls. Her work was what led him to town, a while after what he saw, after she…disappeared…

He didn't know whether or not she was dead…All he knew…was what he saw.

He saw her being sucked dry of blood…by Damon Salvatore...

Only Stefan was aware of Alaric's story. Damon had no idea he was in Mystic Falls because of him.

The Gilberts obviously didn't know either, and Elena was just praying that Isobel was not the same as Alaric's Isobel, who was presumed dead.

Regardless, after a lot of thinking-out-loud with her sister, she decided she wanted to talk to Trudie, and get to the bottom of things.

Emily drives her in Jenna's car, a red Mini Cooper S Cabrio. Elena wasn't intent on doing this alone. She needed someone with her, and Emily was happy to accompany.

Fifteen minutes into the ride, Elena suddenly sighs and turns down the radio, facing Emily as she spoke: "Oh my god, I'm so nervous. And worried. Can you please just…distract me, till we get there?"

"Sure. How's school?" Emily asks.

"Ugh. No. Something else."

"Okay, ummm."

"Oh! I never did ask you. Have you talked to Damon?" she inquires. Emily tenses up.

"No. Why?" she worriedly asks.

"It's just. I ask Stefan, and he just says he's…dealing," Elena weirdly says, something that further worries Emily.

She'd been going crazy for the past three days, thinking if she should check up on him, maybe drop by, see if he was okay.

She kept telling herself he needed some time to himself. Besides. If he needed something, he'd call her…Right?

"Did you call him…the night it happened?" Elena asks a question she'd forgotten to ask before, for obvious reasons.

"Yeah. I did," Emily replies, suddenly reluctant to continue.

She could only remember one thing every time she thought of that night…the kiss.

It was so much more heated than all their previous ones, and it would have led them to a place that probably would have made things really complicated and awkward for them.

But that was exactly what she couldn't stop picturing, and one of the reasons she kept herself from calling him.

"What did he say?" Elena snaps her out of it.

"Uhhh, not much…just that…" she heartedly tried to recall, the feel of his lips against hers a persistent thought whilst remembering, "he was unsure what to do anymore…Stuff like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Huh…Damon didn't really strike me as the type of guy to easily open up."

"Ha. Yeah. No. He isn't…He just…I convinced him to," she says, then furrowed her brows at her strange statement. Elena eyed her suspiciously.

"How?" she asked.

"Ummm. You know. Just…I don't really remember," she gives shortly, shaking her head in dismiss.

"…Did something else happen between you two?" Elena pushes.

"What? No," Emily denies, smiling as though just the thought was funny,

till she felt the ghost of his warm embrace as they laid that night in her bed,

and her cheeks grow red.

Elena's eyes widen.

"Oh my god! Something **did**!" she exclaims, shocking Emily. "What?...Tell me you didn't **sleep** with him!"

"**No**! Of course **not**!" Emily shouts back, quite seriously that time.

"Because you know what that means. You don't wanna be his rebound girl."

"I **know**! We didn't…Nothing happened, okay?!" Emily insists.

"…Are you sure?" Emily sighs.

"We…may have kissed, but," she shook her head as Elena's brows raised. "That's all…It was a sympathy kiss," she casually says. Elena considers her words. She looks out the window and speaks up after several seconds:

"Well, I don't think I have to warn you, because your old and mature enough to figure it out yourself," Emily rolls her eyes at that, "that going down this path with him will only end badly, especially now."

"Ah. Look at that. We're here," Emily smiles in relief, parking the car.

Elena immediately shuts up, and eyes the small, one-story house horrifically.

They exit, and stand across the street from the house. Emily faces Elena warily. "You ready?" she asks.

"…I don't know," Elena shakes her head.

"Do you want a minute?" Elena shakes her head again, fairly uncertainly. "Okay, well," Emily takes her hand, and squeezes it assuringly. Elena turns to her. "Together," Emily says. Elena's features somewhat relax. She inhales deeply and nods.

Emily guides her towards the house.

XXX

"I haven't thought about Isobel in years," the blonde, Trudie, says, seated opposite Emily and Elena on her kitchen table.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Elena asks.

"About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you."

Hearing it from an outside source, made the situation suddenly feel all too real, for both siblings.

Emily would **never** treat Elena any differently, but the truth was as unexpected as it was incredibly frustrating.

"We kept in touch for a while," Trudie continues, "but, well, you know. People drift apart."

"Do you know…where she ended up?" Emily asks. Elena awaits an answer anxiously.

"She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy," she said in pity.

Elena and Emily were both foreign to the idea. Being alone and pregnant was something neither of them could fully process let alone take into consideration.

"Do you have any idea who my father is?" Elena asks. The question makes Emily all the more uncomfortable, as though she hadn't acknowledged that the father was someone else too.

"I could never get her to fess up," Trudie shakes her head, smiling sympathetically at Elena. "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship." Elena smiles at that.

Ever since she'd seen her mother in that cheerleading costume, she was suddenly more open to the idea. Optimistic. Then of course, Jenna mentioned she might be…gone…That wasn't on Elena's mind at that moment though, so with that smile, she asked: "Where did she go?"

"Somewhere in North Carolina. Duke, I think. Smart girl, smart school," Trudie replies. The kettle whistling in the kitchen cuts her off. "Let me just grab that," she said, rising from her seat.

"You okay?" Emily asks, touching her sister's shoulder in assurance.

"Yeah," Elena nods and smiles in dismiss.

She didn't know how to feel. She was as conflicted as she was worried, as she was…excited?

She just didn't know.

And honestly, right now…neither did Emily. She couldn't see past this, this conversation with this woman, Trudie. Both results seemed equally heavy. Either they find out that Isobel really is dead, in which case A) Elena would be devastated, B) Alaric might be her real dad, and that's a whole other package of stuff to sort through. Or…Isobel is alive…and they can find her, which also gives an A) she's a horrible person, B) she's actually nice…which could turn the siblings' lives upside down, especially if she offers to take her daughter in again.

Trudie comes back with a tea tray, and a year book beneath her arm pit. She placed the tray down and sat to Elena's side, opening the book excitedly. She shows Elena and Emily several pictures of her and Isobel in high school.

Emily then reaches for her tea,

and Trudie eyes her warily.

Emily takes a casual sip, watching the pictures with them indifferently, but somewhat pleased Elena seemed content.

Then the taste sets in.

Her brows furrow.

She brings the cup to her lips to taste again,

and picks up the all too familiar scent.

She catches Trudie's eyes, and Trudie quickly looks away.

Emily's heart jumps.

_'Seriously?! When did this become the norm for us?!'_ she wondered irritably, then decided to flat-out ask. She clears her throat. "Miss Peterson," she calls.

"Yes, dear?" Trudie answers innocently. Elena faces her sister curiously.

"What's, uh, that taste, in the tea?" Emily casually asks. With the silly question, Elena looks back at the photos.

"Oh. It's just a herbal mixture," Trudie answers in dismiss.

"Vervain?" Emily questions.

Trudie freezes. Elena's eyes widen.

She looks to Emily, who was eyeing Trudie intently, and turns to her as well.

"You know?" Elena asks warily.

"Know what?" Trudie retorts.

"Come to think of it, you also, technically, didn't invite us in," Emily states upon recalling. Elena's memory triggers too. "And this is definitely vervain…You know," Emily confidently states.

Trudie gets to her feet. "I think that you should probably leave," she says firmly.

"Wait. What are you not telling me?" Elena asks her suspiciously as Emily cautiously stands as well, pulling her sister up by the arm.

"Please. Leave," Trudie repeats, voice growing louder. Emily moves Elena away from the table, and towards the door. Elena continues to stare at Trudie in confusion. "Now!" Trudie pushes, looking more scared that hostile.

"Come on," Emily encourages, grabbing her bag. Elena does the same.

They both leave the house, and head to the car. Elena gets into the front seat, and Emily heads to the wheel.

Feeling a set of eyes on her back,

she turns

and spots a man…standing oddly in the middle of the road.

Her heart jumps.

Quickly, she opens the door and gets in, shutting it behind her,

and locking it.

"Who is that?" Elena asks her, staring over her seat at the back warily.

"No idea," Emily answers, starting the car and driving off in haste.

Discussing what had happened in the car, the two find that, somehow, they'd only ended up with more questions than before, something that clearly frustrates Elena. Emily does her best to calm her down, and when they head home, they explain to Jenna what had happened, leaving out the finale, and simply stating that Trudie didn't know what had happened to Isobel, and that she said nothing about her having passed away.

XXXXX


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, Emily is on her way to college, and she gets the wild idea to drop by Damon's first.

She went back and forth with the thought till she decided she simply would, with a valid excuse to leave quickly if needs be.

She parks outside and heads for the door.

Before stopping herself, she knocks.

Then she could hear blaring music from inside. Her brows furrowed curiously, when Stefan opened up. "Emily. Hi," he warmly greets.

He expected she'd drop by sooner or later,

but now wasn't the best of times, honestly.

"Hi. Stefan," she smiles back, now seriously wondering about the music that was quite loud. She tries to look past him to see what was going on. "Is Damon here?" she asks.

"Um…Now's…not really-"

"Who's at the door, Stef!" yells Damon from the living room. Stefan sighs, moving aside warily.

Inside, were three girls, all in mostly their undergarments, dancing, and Damon, with his arm around a brunette's shoulder, his shirt left open and a wide grin on his lips.

Emily subconsciously steps in, eyes wide and heart-racing.

His grin seems to grow upon seeing her. "Emily!" he happily exclaims, waving at her as he releases the smiling girl from his hold. He zooms to stand opposite the shocked Gilbert, only to shock her further by pulling her into him and crashing his lips onto hers. She moans in surprise and Stefan's eyes widen, unsure how to react, till Damon releases her with a: "Mwah!…You are so much tastier than," he turns and points at the group of girls dancing and lounging on the couches, "all of this," he says, gesturing vaguely with his hands and balancing from one foot to the other. Emily is still trying to process what had happened, and catch her breath, as Stefan heads to turn the music down. She picks up on the heavy stench of alcohol Damon was emitting.

"You are…very drunk. He's drunk, right?" Emily asks Stefan frantically as he walks back.

"Very," he nods assuringly.

"Hello. I'm right here," Damon states irritably.

"This is…Oh my god. This…" she is at a loss for words. Damon smirks, taking her hands and bringing them back and forth as he said:

"You wanna join the party?" he wiggles his eyebrows. She raises hers at him.

"No! Ew!" she says, pulling her hands back and approaching him to a foot. "You need to…get out of the house! This is not…a way to cope, Damon!" she exclaims. Damon rolls his eyes as Stefan stands opposite them, in full agreement with Emily. She gets an idea. "Okay. I gotta go," Damon furrows his brows at that, "but when I'm done, I'm calling you, so we can do something, and you better be sober, or we're not doing anything."

"Anything like what?" he smirks haughtily. Stefan shakes his head at his brother's ridiculous attitude. Emily cocks a brow at him.

"Goodbye, Damon," she tells, turning on her heel to leave. Damon grabs her hand.

"No. Come on," he says sadly.

"Let her go, Damon," Stefan chastises.

"Shut up," Damon shoots irritably at him. He faces her again. "Please. Stay," he says. He hadn't seen her in days, and he may be drunk, but even so, he remembers how good and comforting her company is.

Emily is officially made reluctant to leave. "I have to. I have a presentation."

"Screw it," he says, approaching her and bringing her hand between his other as well, engulfing it in warmth as he caught her gaze intently. Stefan refrains from doing anything, just watching whatever this was unfold.

"…I can't. I barely attend as is, and," she catches his gaze falling in disappointment. "Oh, come on. No pouting," she cupped his chin with her free hand to catch his eyes. He looks to her curiously. "It's a two-hour lecture. Shower," she tells, smiling humorously. "I'll be waiting," she pulled her hand away gently and headed for the door.

"Bye," Damon waves gloomily. She waves and smiles warmly at him, shutting the door behind her.

Damon sighs tiredly. Stefan studies him curiously.

Damon turns to the sorority girls, and they suddenly look like a pack of garbage to him. "…Out," he sternly said. Stefan's eyes widen in surprise. "Get dressed. Get out."

XXX

"You're going out with him," Jenna re-states, standing in the kitchen with Emily as she packed picnic stuff into a large, red hand bag.

"No. I mean yes. We're just hanging out," Emily answers, turning on the tab to fill a bottle.

"In that spot where you and Alec used to make out." Emily looks at Jenna over her shoulder in shock.

"It's not where we used to make out!"

"Was there something **else** you did when you went there?" Jenna pushes sarcastically.

"**Yes**! We **talked**, and…watched the sky," she practically whispered that part, "but, that's not. Why I'm taking Damon! He's been a shut-in for the past week! He needs some sunlight, and I just happen to know a place!" she loudly explains, closing the tab and placing the bottle in the bag.

"Right," Jenna smirks. Emily faces her seriously.

"Knock it off. Okay? He's gonna be here any minute, and I don't want him getting any ides with, you know, your creepy smirking," Emily grins madly and points at her mouth, causing Jenna to chuckle in amusement, then fixes her face. "Or, that smug thing you do with your face that's like 'I know something else is going on,' but there **isn't**!"

The one reason Jenna didn't believe her, was because of how worked up and nervous Emily was acting.

She didn't push it though.

XXX

"So, where are we going, and what is with the super huge bag?" Damon curiously asks as she drove her car beside him.

"You'll see when we get there," she states, smiling contently. Damon smirks, despite his sour, sober mood. The whole time, Emily refrains from asking him how he was. She didn't think he wanted to go through it again, and she honestly didn't want to hear about Katherine, **again**. He was glad she didn't ask, cause he was kinda worried she would. For once, silence was soothing.

They stop at the edge of the forest, and Damon is hoping she wasn't planning what he thought she was planning. She guides him a short way through the woods before they reach a clearing several feet from the river. She kneels on the ground and pulls out a blanket from the bag. "Oh, come on. A picnic! What did I bring **this** for?" he asks irritably, waving the bottle of bourbon in his hand. She does not look up at him as she fixes the blanket, then settles on it cross-legged.

"Sit," she slaps the spot next to her. Reluctantly, he does. She faces him. "Come on. I'm not stupid, Damon. I know this isn't your scene," she says.

"Then what are we doing here?" he asks, smiling sarcastically.

"Right now, this is what you need. Some quiet, with someone who won't let your thoughts wander into dark places," she widens her eyes in mock and wiggles her fingers for effect. Damon is not amused. "Something to drink," she waves at the bottle. "And," she digs through the bag beside her, and brings out a silver, takeout plate. She uncovers it to show french fries. "Therapy food," she smirks. The fries seem to unwind his tension somewhat, and her explanation was somewhat plausible. He puts the bottle aside and leans back onto the blanket with a sigh, squinting his eyes at the sky, and grateful they were shaded from the sun.

She pushes her bag aside, and leans back on her elbows, looking up. "See? Isn't so bad," she says, then turns to face him with that annoyingly sweet smile of hers.

"Meh," he gives, refusing to humor what he still thought was a bad idea. His answer was good enough for her. "How'd you find this place, anyway?" he asked.

"Just," she shook her head. "You know. I like to be alone," she gives, looking away. Damon cocks a brow.

"You know I can tell when you're lying, right?" he says. Emily snaps to him, eyes slowly widening, then she scowls.

"You and your brother are so annoying with that!" she says. Damon smirks.

"Come on. Spill it out," he says. She sighs in frustration.

"Fine," she turns on her side to him, leaning with an elbow probed, and resting her head on her fist as he faced her. "But don't get the wrong idea, okay? This is totally unrelated to that. **Totally**, okay?" she demands.

"If you say so," Damon says in amusement, his interest pecked.

"Alec showed it to me," she quietly replies, glancing about and trying to be as casual as possible about it. Damon grins, probing himself up on his elbows.

"Your make-out spot? Really?" he asks, then laughs.

"It is **not** a make-out spot! It's just…a **nice** and **quiet** spot!" she defends.

"Sure. You know, we didn't have to come all the way out here. Hell, we could've gone at it in the car," he says humorously.

"Oh, **gross**!" she slaps his shoulder, pushing him back.

"Hey! I'm not gross! I'm the best you can ever have," he states, smirking.

"Oh, seriously! Knock it off! Don't make me regret deciding to hang out with you!" she points an accusing finger at him. He rolls his eyes.

"Fine. I'll stop…**if** you admit that you do, in fact, think about sleeping with me," he slyly says. She gawks at him, then scoffs.

"Of course I think about it, alright?! Any woman who looks at you thinks about it. Hell, I bet my aunt does too!" she tells him irritably. Damon laughs again. "Oh, ha. Ha! Very funny," she smirks, shaking her head. He continues to laugh heartedly, then calms down with a satisfied sigh. _'Wow. I really needed that,'_ he thinks…

then looks to the woman to his side, gazing in the distance with a smile on her face, the wind gently pushing her hair back, and exposing that exquisite neck of hers. Rather than allow himself to hear her blood flow, or focus on her scent, he diverts his attention to her bag, and rummages through it to see what else she'd bought. She turns to see what he's doing. "Ooh," he brings out the blue, transparent lunch box full of cookies. He opens it, and she takes one, as he does the same. They sit and finish off the box together, when Damon asks: "Did you make em?"

"Mhm. My mom taught me," she says, then smiles sadly at the sweet memory. Damon glances at her.

"Well, she's an excellent chef…And I have no doubt she's proud of you," he says.

At first, he was referring to her cooking, but as he said it, it sounded like it meant more, and he was sure it was how she heard it. He didn't clarify as he glanced and saw her eye him in shock, and gratitude.

She looked away, blushing, and he could hear her heart racing. He smiled. She deserved to hear that. Maybe even needed to, and he was happy to oblige.

Then she frowns at the topic related to parents that popped into her thoughts.

Despite not used to sharing family-related issues with others, she found she was talking before she was fully aware she was: "We found out Elena was adopted." Damon's eyes widen as he faces her. She wipes her hands from crumps and hugs her knees. "Yeah. It's been freaking her out. We did some digging after we found out how much she looked like…you know." Damon frowns.

Yeah. He knew.

"Yesterday, I drove her to see one of her real mom's old friend. She was weird, and I'm pretty sure she knew about vampires, but…you know what got to me most?"

"What?" he asked curiously, still stuck on the fact that this woman knew about his kind.

"That Elena…she's not actually my sister…I mean. That won't change things between us, of course, but…I don't know…I…felt panicked."

"…Why?"

"…You're gonna think I'm stupid," she shakes her head, leaning it on her knees.

"No. Come on," he bumps her shoulder with his. She faces him with her head still against her knees, and upon seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she put one leg down and probed an elbow on her knee, burying her hand in her hair as she gazed afar.

"I was afraid I was gonna lose her too…to the point where I was hoping her mom really was dead, like we assume she is…" she guiltily confessed.

Damon takes this in, and she glanced at him worriedly to see him thinking, then shake his head. "It doesn't make you stupid, Em." He faces her. "It means you're human. Suck it up," he shrugs. She smiles, surprisingly reassured.

He hands her the bourbon bottle.

XXXXX


	27. Chapter 27

They finish off half of the bottle, as they discuss Emily's morning presentation for the sake of conversation, then they're soon picking at the fries.

"Yeah. I've been to college. Several times," he says.

"Really?" she asks, slightly confused.

"Yeah. You know, one of the perks of being a vampire, is the ability to possibly do literally everything," he states, a little buzzed from the bourbon. Her brows raise curiously. "I tried several schools. I honestly hated history and crap, so I didn't take English. I tried architect, law school, computer science, and acting," he said. She laughed at the bizarreness of the ability to do all of that in one lifetime.

"Wow. That is. Amazing," she says, gazing into the distance as she imagined it.

The ability, the **time**, to do everything…

Wow…

Suddenly, being a vampire made that seem possible, even though it wasn't entirely related. One could still do almost everything in one lifetime.

But this wasn't the first time she thought about…turning,

and right now, Damon knew she was thinking of it.

And all of a sudden, he felt a pang of guilt, for constantly sugar-coating vampirism before her.

She deserves the truth.

"You know you can't have kids as a vampire," he says. Emily turns to him, confused with his out-of-the-blue confession. She processes what he'd said as he looked to see her reaction.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yep," he answered.

"Huh…I guess that makes sense…Why? Why bring this up, again?" she inquired curiously.

"Just thought you should know everything before making a decision."

"What decision?"

"Oh, come on. Don't kid yourself. You've been thinking about it. There's no shame in admitting it," he smirks.

"Damon," she sighs, shaking her head tiredly. Then she pauses, and he raises an expectant brow.

"…Does it hurt?" she asks. He eyes her in confusion.

"Does what? Transitioning?"

"No. Biting someone…Drinking from them," she says.

"Not as bad as you'd think. I could show you," he smirks flirtatiously at her.

"Show me how?" she asks in confusion. Then her eyes widen. "Bite me?!" At her shock, Damon chuckles.

"I'm kidding," he says.

Then Emily actually considers it…

"…Do it," she says. Damon snaps to her, his turn at being shocked.

"What?" She locks onto his gaze in all seriousness.

"I mean, don't take this the wrong way…but…I want you to show me," she says.

Was she even aware what she was asking him to do?

No, but she was hoping she would after he was done.

He on the other hand, panicked. He wasn't sure why, but it ironically felt suddenly wrong.

"No," Damon said, looking away. She eyed him quizzically.

"Why not?" she asks.

"Because," he retorts, refusing to look at her.

"Because what?!"

"…"

"Damon!" she calls, poking his arm irritably. Damon suddenly, but gently, grasps her wrist, nearing her face till they were inches apart, effectively shutting her up as he lowly said:

"Because I really want to…" His tone was more soft than threatening, and it enchanted her.

"…Then do it," she whispered, the liquor speaking more than herself.

Regardless, she was making it really difficult for him to resist the urge when she spoke like that, looked at him like that,

so he gave in.

Taking her off guard, he pushed her back against the blanket, and hovered over her in a way that made her think she was dreaming. Her longing eyes made his heart race. He leaned in, his breath ghosting against the skin of her neck and bearing goosebumps across her whole body. She readied herself in anticipation, but found he was lightly kissing her neck instead. Her eyes slid shut at the consuming sensation, and her lips pursed to block all and any sounds of pleasure. He could feel she was tense as a spring beneath him, and his nose was starting to pick up on a scent other than her blood, lower-set.

Instead of letting ill-timed thoughts fill his mind, Damon opened his mouth, and carefully, expertly, sunk his fangs in, penetrating her skin. Emily gasped at the sharp, prick-like sensation, her hands rising to grasp his arms in a motion to push him away, till the pain slowly dissipated, and she could practically feel her blood being sucked out of her.

She was soon too dizzy to be aware of that, and an electric-like numbness spread across her body, causing her to sigh in confused pleasure.

Damon moaned at her taste. She was so sweet, and…incredible, he actually didn't want to stop,

but then again, no vampire ever did.

Regardless, he allowed himself less than a minute, before he slowly pulled back out.

He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand as he looked to face her. Her cat-green eyes were heavy-leaded with thick lashes as she eyed him in a daze, blood seeping from the holes in her neck. Damon didn't like the idea that he'd hurt her, even though she was perfectly fine. Still, the wound as if mocked him. He bit into his wrist, and brought it to her lips, cradling her head with his other hand as he guided her to drink. She swallowed half-consciously, and started to regain her senses as the wound closed up. Damon watched her with admiring curiosity as she drank from him. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, but it was something.

When he affirmed she'd healed, he pulled away, but remained close to her. The bizarreness of the situation suddenly set in for her, as she took a second to catch her breath.

Yet unaware who'd leaned in first, their still blood-tainted lips closed against one another. In a second, they were kissing passionately, and Emily hooked her arms around his neck, hoisting herself closer to him as he embraced her tightly. It didn't matter that they could taste each other's blood on one another's lips. If anything, it riled them on.

Damon licked her bottom lip, and she opened up to him. Damon let his tongue explore her mouth, causing her to moan in warmth and pleasure.

All of their surroundings faded.

Everything.

And it was just them.

She kissed him lovingly, cupping his face between her palms. Her so sweet touch caused his heart to ache, and he would have had her on the ground again, when her phone oh-so-rudely interrupted them.

Breathless, they reluctantly pulled apart, their minds slowly re-joining the surrounding world as their dilated eyes met.

The irritating cell-phone continued to ring, and Emily annoyingly pulled the bag to her as Damon backed up. She brought out the phone, and sighed upon seeing Jenna's name.

Hesitantly, she picked up. "Hey. Jenna. What's up?" she casually asked.

_"Hi. Emily. How's it __**going**__?"_ the aunt slyly inquired.

"Uh, it's going fine. Is, uh, something up?" she asked, averting her attention to Damon, who brought a thumb and brushed it against her lip, causing her heart to jump at the contact. He then brought it back, blood-smudged,

and licked it.

She obviously couldn't stop staring at him, till Jenna spoke up again, and he smirked.

_"Why are you breathing so heavily_?" she asked. Acknowledging what she'd said, Emily's eyes widen as Damon grins in amusement. She ignores his gaze.

"Nothing! What is it, Jenna?" she impatiently asked.

_"Hehe. I need the car back,"_ Emily sighs at that. _"Something popped up at the office, and I need the car," _she says.

"Okay. Fine. I'll be back in twenty," Emily replies, hanging up.

XXX

"Bye, bye!" Damon mused, walking away from her car to his house. Emily smiled.

"Don't do anything stupid, Damon!" she called. He chuckled at that, and she started the engine, driving back to her house.

Thankfully, things weren't too awkward between them in the car, mainly because they were often busy re-picturing the kiss. Neither cared enough to wonder what it meant for them. It was as if it was becoming something they just do, regardless of appropriateness.

Upon reaching her house, Jenna teased her about what they did, of course, but Emily denied it all, and said that they just sat and talked. She didn't need people asking the questions she didn't want asked, didn't want to re-hear what Elena had said to her the day before on their way to Trudie's 'his rebound girl.' She wasn't. It wasn't like that between them because they weren't in a relationship. They were friends…who occasionally made out.

_'God, Emily. How fucked up is your life?'_' she thought. Who cares? She liked it the way it was.

Did she?

Later that night, Emily finds out that Jenna's work thing was this ridiculous fundraiser thing the town was preparing at the Mystic Grill. Elena and Stefan were going. She wasn't, neither was Jeremy, and the two siblings sat at home and watched a horror movie.

When Elena comes back, she tells Emily what had happened. The night was going fine, and she was talking to Stefan outside the Grill, when the man they'd seen at Trudie's re-appeared,

and told her to stop looking for Isobel.

Then, he killed himself, by stepping in front of a speeding car.

Bypassing the shock, Elena took his phone, and sat opposite Emily as she debated calling the last number on it to see if it was…her mom.

One thing they knew, Isobel was alive.

This at least put Stefan at ease, for he was now sure that Damon hadn't killed her.

He was yet to tell Alaric, who was fed up with waiting,

and oh-so-stupidly, went to confront Damon in his house. Damon, annoyed with the late night irritation after having spent a wonderful evening with Emily, he teases Alaric, after confessing that he'd turned Isobel, that she wasn't happy with her life, or with Alaric, and that he did in fact sleep with her.

Fed up with his bullshit, Alaric attacks Damon with a stake, causing Damon to kill him.

Stefan arrived home, shocked with Alaric's body in the living room. He confronts Damon, who explains what had happened with little care.

Out of this, Stefan finds out that Damon had turned Isobel,

and when Alaric miraculously awakens from the dead,

he confesses his ring had protective abilities.

Back at Emily's Elena decides to call the number.

It rings…

It picks up.

A woman's voice replies, saying: 'Was there a problem? Did you find her? What's going on?'

Elena utters Isobel's name,

and the woman immediately hangs up, confirming to the siblings that it was indeed her…

XXXXX


	28. Chapter 28

It was around three pm, two days after previous events, when a knock sounds,

at her window.

Emily's brows furrow. She puts her laptop aside, and heads to peel away the curtain. Damon smiles and waves at her from outside the glass, crouched on her rooftop, with a pair of sunglasses on. She rolls her eyes and smirks, opening her window for him. He climbs in. "Owwww!" he uttered as he straightened up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, tying the current to the side and leaving the window open.

"Ugh. Long story," he said, flopping onto her bed, laid down.

Wow. He just walks in and acts like he owns the place.

"Well, are you gonna tell it to me, or are you just here for my bed?" she asks, standing opposite him with arms crossed. He smiles in amusement. "What's with the shades?"

"Well. I had my eyes poked out by a five-hundred-year-old vampire, so they're kinda extra sensitive right now."

"What?!" she exclaims, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Ugh. Fine. Sit," he pats the spot beside him. She complies and sits with one leg beneath her thigh, facing him. "Okay, sooooo. You know Anna, right? Your brother's vampire girlfriend."

"She's not his girlfriend," Emily states weirdly.

"Right. Whatever. Anyways, her and her mom paid me a visit. They wanted to know about the council-"

"What council?"

"…Right. You don't know. Okay." He sits up.

He trusts her enough to tell her now. There was no need to hide it from her. He faces her with shades still in. His eyes were mostly closed beneath them, and she could tell, cause it looked like he was talking to the air opposite him. "The council was around since my time. The founding families come together, and make a pact against vampires," he explains. Emily listens in interest, and surprise. "I managed to convince Liz I'm human, and as the oldest Salvatore, I'm a member too." Emily is taken aback by this. "So, Pearl, Anna's mom. She wants to know who else is on the council, and wants me to stop supplying them with vervain."

"You supply them with vervain?" she asks in un-expectance.

"Yeah, Zach used to do it. And if I want to remain a faithful member, I have to take his place."

"…After you killed him," she says in mock-filled displeasure.

"Yes. After I killed him. Can we please not dwell on that?" he sighs tiredly, then pulls off his glasses. He blinks repeatedly and squints his eyes. She winces at his look of pain, and he faces her. "How do they look?" he asks. She leans closer and studies them. _'Still blue and beautiful,'_ she refrained from saying.

"A little red, but they look fine," she says. "How did you poke em, anyways?"

"I didn't. Pearl did. You know, with her thumbs." Emily winces in great disgust.

"Oh my god," she breathes.

"Yeah. Not fun," he scowls irritably at the painful memory.

"So what'd you say to her?"

"Well, I said no, and then she tried to persuade me by telling me she could help me find Katherine." Emily's eyes widen and heart pinches at that. Damon scoffs. "I told her that was the **last** thing I wanted, and when I refused to do what she asked, she got pokey," he says sarcastically, falling back onto the bed.

Emily spent a good amount of time asking Damon questions about Pearl, and the council. He recited how he met Pearl, her relation to Katherine and Johnathan Gilbert. He told her how he found out about the still-standing council when he came back, and that he killed Lexi to get them off of his and Stefan's backs, and how they considered him a hero – something Emily found laughable - for killing Logan Fell, which he confessed to not knowing who actually had ended him.

Then she told him about Isobel, and all that was well and new with her story, and Damon told her that he knew Isobel, and that he turned her himself. Her being a vampire doesn't entirely surprise Emily, as Elena had told her that the man who said not to look for Isobel seemed to be under compulsion as he then killed himself. No, the only thing that surprises her is the fact that Damon was the one to turn her.

It wasn't just surprising…It was kind of annoying, to her at least.

It was as though a part of her had stupidly assumed that him offering to turn herself was…in a way, a special gesture…She scolds herself for constantly forgetting that he'd lived for a hundred and something years, and that he probably met and turned plenty of women he treated the same way he treats her.

She doesn't dwell on it. His feelings for Katherine, hatred or else, Emily always saw as a wall between them she couldn't yet breach.

Less than an hour passed as they talked away, when the front doorbell rung, and Elena went to answer. Damon could hear his brother's voice. "Ah. My dear brother, picking up…**your** sister. That sounds weird," Damon muses.

"Only when you think it is." Catching sight of her laptop, Emily recalls she needed to study, but she also didn't want Damon to leave.

"What?" he asks at her extended silence.

"I just…gotta study," she says.

"Well. I'm not holding you back," he said, fixing himself in the bed and shutting his eyes. She raises a brow at him.

"You gonna nap?" she asks curiously.

"You mind?" he opened one eye at her.

"No," she shakes her head with a pleasant smile. He shuts his eye again.

He didn't want to leave; didn't want to be alone, and he was comfortable enough around her to get a moment of peace without the occasional bitter thoughts about his bitchy ex and the fact that he wasted his life thinking of her.

"Want me to turn off the lights?" she asks.

"No. It's fine," he says, moving to sleep on his side with his hands beneath her Emily-scented pillow. He feels the bed shift and looks to see her at the edge, about to get up. "Where are you going?" he asks. She faces him at the pouty tone, and smirks in amusement.

"To sit at the desk, so I don't bother you with the keyboard clicking and stuff," she says.

"Emily, if I wanted to sleep alone, I'd go home. Will you just sit and do what you were doing before I got here," he retorts. She smiles contently at him, warmed by what he'd said.

"Alright."

XXX

It's about an hour later, when Jeremy knocks on the door. Emily glares at it to keep quite so as not to wake up Damon. Not hearing a rejection, Jeremy opens the door, and halts, upon spotting a body beside her. His brows raise, and he steps in to get a better look. She waves him away and he ignores her, a grin growing on his face upon seeing Damon. He mouths an 'oooh,' at her, and she rolls her eyes. "What do you want?" she whispers irritably.

"Do you want yesterday's pizza?" he asks just as quietly.

"No! Go away!" she tells.

"Okay!" he whisper-shouts back, and struts out the door, smirking.

Fifteen minutes later, Damon wakes up, content to be presented with the sight of her to his side, reading a book. She glances and sees he has his eyes groggily open. "Hey," she smiles, causing him to smile as well. "How was the nap?" He stretches onto his back.

"Mmm, so good," he mused.

"Well, I was gonna wake you up," she says, grabbing a plate of food off the bedside table and handing it to him as he sat up to see.

"Ooh. Thanks," he says.

He asks her about the book she's reading, and she tells him its Robinson Crusoe. They discuss that for a while, when Damon shushes her suddenly, and glares warily at the door.

"What?" she asks worriedly.

"It's Anna," he says, quickly getting to his feet. Emily shoots up as well and follows him out the door.

They rush down the stairs, to the living room, and Emily could hear audible chatter between Anna and Jeremy.

"Enough of homeschooling. I'd like to be a normal teen for once. But I have to ask my mom first, she'll have an opinion," says Anna.

"Well, I wish you were-" Jeremy is cut off when Damon and Emily stomp down and stand opposite them wildly.

"What are you doing here?" Emily warily asks her.

"Uh, we're just hanging out," Jeremy says, eyeing Emily irritably.

"Yeah, we're just talking," Anna tells sincerely, after getting over the fact that Damon was for some reason here.

"Okay. Well," he grabs Emily's upper arm. "We'll be upstairs," he smiles fake-ly at them, glaring meaningfully at Anna in warning of trying anything. Jeremy is fairly confused by their attitude,

and for a moment,

assumes they knew….

…about vampires.

Did Jeremy know?

He was speculating.

Ever since he did that paper, with Anna's help, and every time he saw her face change strangely.

He was skeptical.

"Come on," Damon tells Emily assuringly, she who was very, very reluctant to leave her brother.

"But-" she protests on the stairs.

"Go," Damon sternly tells. She irritably complies, and when they're in, and the door's closed, she starts again.

"Damon! What are you-"

"Calm down. I'll stay till she leaves. I can hear everything," he tells. She sighs warily, brushing her hands through her hair and starting to pace the room.

"Damon, I can't stop thinking about it," she whisper-tells.

"Look, just-"

"I can't stop thinking about becoming…one," she gestures at him. Damon shuts up. That wasn't what he was expecting her to say.

"Okay," he guides her to her bathroom, and she moves along, confused. He opens the door, then opens the sink. "Talk," he says. She doesn't understand why they were in the bathroom, and continues to eye him weirdly. He rolls his eyes. "So she can't hear us," he explains impatiently.

"…Right. So. Anyways…I mean. Elena's real mom is a vampire and she sends that compelled guy to tell her off. My brother's friend is a vampire, **both** of whom we **don't** trust! And what can I do if something goes wrong?! **Nothing**! And it's not like I can keep calling you; you **have** a life!" she exclaims.

"Right now, not really," he says, half-sarcastic.

"Damon…"

"Yeah. I know. Feeling defenseless sucks…"

"I don't know what to do…"

Her gaze is fixed at the floor, her tension and discomfort crystal clear. Damon studies her, thinking.

He doesn't understand why he's all of a sudden very reluctant about giving or doing anything vampire-related to her. So, if this is what she chooses, he doesn't want to be her only source of information.

…If anyone could talk her out of this…

"Why don't you talk to Stefan about it?" he suggests. Emily turns to him, brows furrowed, totally not what she was expecting him to say.

"What?"

"He's greatly against vampirism, and if this is what you choose, you ought to have seen all the angles," he says, putting a hand into his pocket. It was visually obvious he was displeased with what he was suggesting,

but it wasn't a bad idea…

"What will he tell me that you haven't already?" she asks, crossing her arms with a slightly accusing tone. Damon gives it a think-about.

"Not much. But the way he'll talk about it is far less encouraging." She squints her eyes at him.

"Why would you want that? You're the one who keeps suggesting-"

"Because I can't-" _'I can't be the one to blame if this goes wrong for you…I don't want to be…'_ he refrained from saying that, and said instead: "It needs to feel like it's **your** own choice, not just something I talked you into. This is your **life** we're talking about," he says.

…Well, she was definitely worried now.

He shuts off the sink, and changes the subject. "So, do you got any movies on that computer of yours? Something to kill the time till you-know-who goes away," he says. She takes a minute to bypass the previous topic, and process what he'd said. She sighs.

They do end up watching a movie, but who was really watching? Damon kept listening in to Anna and Jeremy's conversation, looking for something suspicious, and Emily was as tense as a spring, filled to the prim with worry at the thought of her brother being in danger, and a huge mental debate on vampirism.

He was right.

She ought to talk to Stefan.

Regardless of all of that…feeling Damon's shoulder against hers, hearing him breathe beside her, the fact that he was there, currently for the sole reason of keeping her and her brother safe…it made her feel…warm…safe…and she did not overlook it.

She momentarily panics though, about the fact that…she liked him so much, in a way she didn't understand. Things would be so much simpler if Katherine hadn't existed.

Or would they?

Damon also qualified as a womanizer, and a flirt, so putting aside his ex,

could she ever fully trust Damon? Specifically upon regrading a relationship.

It was that godforsaken question that was holding her back by the arm from escalating things between them, something she was un-happily sure he currently wouldn't mind.

A short while later, Anna leaves, mainly because Damon's presence was making her uncomfortable. Jeremy wanted her to stay, at least long enough for him to confirm a theory,

but he didn't get the chance.

Soon after, Damon rises to take off. He asks Emily about the compass. She said it was in her bag. He scolded her, and told her to keep it somewhere she could see it at all times.

She walks him down the stairs, to the door that was being opened, from the outside,

by Jenna.

The blonde steps in, and freezes upon seeing him. He smiles brightly. "Hello, Jenna," he greets, walking past her and out onto the porch. He turns and waves goodbye at Emily, who waved back contently, then he turned and disappeared down the street as Emily closed the door.

"What, uh?" Jenna asks as Emily faces her expectantly.

"Yeah, he's been here since this morning," Jeremy, who was playing with his Xbox, states from on the couch. Both women turn to him wide-eyed, one pissed and the other surprised.

"This morning **when**?!"

"Around three or four," Emily tells tiredly. Jenna looks to her.

"It's seven now. So, he's **also** been here for three or **four** hours, doing **what**?"

"Just…hanging," Emily flops her arms and heads to the kitchen.

"Uh, when I came in, he was sleeping!" Jeremy calls. They turn to him again as he rises and approaches them.

"Did I do something to you?!" Emily irritably asks. Jeremy grins mischievously.

"Oh, come on. It's been forever since you've had a boyfriend," he says.

"Oh, my god!" Emily utters in exhausted disbelief, refusing to re-affirm yet again that she and Damon were not a 'thing.' She opens the fridge and mulls over what to eat.

"What do you mean, he was sleeping? Sleeping where?!" Jenna demands.

"On her bed. They weren't doing anything. She was on her laptop, and he was all cuddled up beside her," Jeremy gestures with his hands, seeming fairly amused.

"Ah, ha!" Emily laughs, coming out with cheese, bread, and pastrami. The picture Jeremy drew set into her mind, and she couldn't stop grinning as she placed the items on the counter and started making a sandwich.

It was in fact very hard to concentrate on her studying when he looked so cute and peaceful beside her.

Jenna placed a hand on her hip and faced Emily. "Okay, Em. What are you doing? I thought you said he was off limits," she says.

"He is, was. Whatever. Look. We weren't doing anything. Elena sleeps over at Bonnie's all the time! What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, Damon is a guy, and he's hot, and he likes to surprise you with things you apparently like, like a surprise road-trip, or **cooking**."

"Jenna," Emily sighs as Jeremy listens in curiously.

"You'll fall for him," Jenna states sternly. Emily looks at her in momentarily disbelief.

She looked away, re-focusing on making that sandwich and refusing to talk about it, refusing to believe it.

A part of her knew Jenna was right,

and the other, bigger part didn't want all and everything that goes on between them to end because of a stupid possibility.

XXXXX


	29. Chapter 29

Upon returning home, Damon is shocked to find his brother being attacked by several other vampires.

With Stefan grateful that Damon was there, the siblings team up, and defeat the two opposite them. One goes down, the other flees.

Damon checks up on Stefan, who says that he recognizes the vampires, and that they were in the tomb. Damon turns to Stefan reluctantly, and start to tell his conversation with Pearl that morning, and how the Bennett spell didn't work, and that all twenty other vampires

were out…

XXX

Elena comes home that night, after spending an awkward double date with Stefan, and Matt and Caroline.

Having originally wanted to spend a drama-free night, Stefan did not mention, on the phone that night, that the tomb vampires were out. He wanted to let her sleep in peace.

Readying for bed as well, Emily suddenly recalled what Damon had told her, that she should talk to Stefan. And upon seeing her sister exit the bathroom a minute ago and dial a number she assumed was Stefan's, she rushed out of her room, and into her sister's. Elena, from beneath her bed sheets with her night-lamp on, eyes her strangely as Emily steps in. "Is that Stefan?" she asks.

"Yeah?" Elena replies in confusion. Stefan, who heard from the other end of the line, was also curious as to what she wanted, and Damon, who was picking up the dead vampire body from his living room, listened in as he worked, half-aware what this was about.

"Can I?" she gestures at the phone.

"Uhh, sure," Elena says, putting it out. Emily grabs it and puts it to her ear.

"Hi, Stefan," she greets.

_"Hey, Emily,"_ Stefan retorts with brows still furrowed.

"Hey, listen. There was, uh, something I wanted to talk you about," she said, voice audibly nervous. "Can we meet at the Grill tomorrow, at two?"

_"Sure. Is something wrong?"_

"No. Just. Need to ask you something," she replies.

_"Okay. Sure."_

"Okay, I'll see you then. Here's Elena back," she hands the phone to her sister and leaves the room.

Upon hanging up with Stefan, she gets out of bed and to Emily's, who was fixing her blanket. "What was that about?" she asks.

"Nothing. Just wanted to ask him something about vampires," Emily states.

"What?" Elena pushes curiously.

"Just, general questions," Emily replies, refusing eye-contact.

"…Like," Elena mused.

"Just stuff, Elena!" she tells tiredly. Elena is confused with her attitude.

She was tense, very tense about what she wanted to ask him. it wasn't something she would openly discuss with Elena, till she was sure of her decision.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks her, stepping in. Emily sighs and faces her.

"I'm fine. It's just, everything that's been going on, that's all," she gives, hoping the answer would satisfy her sibling.

That was actually the truth for Elena.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No. I just. Need some rest," Emily nods, smiling assuringly at her. Still uncertain, Elena nods as well.

"Okay. Goodnight," she says, taking her leave.

XXX

"Hey," Stefan greets, sliding into the seat opposite her in the corner booth.

"Hi," she smiles, suddenly made nervous by his presence. Well, more about their topic of discussion. "Uh, do you want something to drink?" she politely asks.

"Sure," he plays along. He orders coffee, and she lemonade. When the waiter, Matt, who greets her and Stefan warmly, is off with their order, Stefan faces Emily again.

"So. What's on your mind?" he encourages, recalling her hesitant tone on the phone the night before. She seemed fairly jumpy and anxious opposite him right now as well.

Emily's gaze snapped to meet his, before she pulled it away nervously, uncertain how to start.

But she'd thought this over a dozen times since the night before, up until her arrival at the Grill.

She clears her throat, collecting scraps of confidence, and locks onto his gaze again. "I want you to tell me about your…vampire…experience," she lowly said, eyeing around cautiously for listeners, then to see his reaction.

A part of her thought Damon might have told him what she wanted, but it seemed he hadn't, for Stefan looked taken aback and confused by her question.

"Which part, exactly?" he asks.

"All of it. Like. The good. The bad."

"…Why?"

"I just…wanna know," she shakes her head.

But there could only be one motive behind a question like that.

Stefan's eyes go very wide.

"Emily, what exactly do you want?" he warily asked.

She feels she's been caught.

"I just wanna know. Please," she told, tone more desperate, as if she'd dropped the casual act.

"Okay. You wanna know? Okay," he fixes himself in his seat, seeming suddenly worked up, and thinking carefully of a gradual way to dis-convince her of what she wanted. Emily feels she's not going to like what she hears.

"Here you go," Matt says, approaching them with a tray of drinks.

"Uh, I'm sorry. Matt. Can we take those to go?" Stefan tells apologetically. Matt pauses, confused.

"Uh, sure," he walks back to the bar.

Stefan faces Emily when he's gone. "We can't talk about this here. Too many ears," he says, looking about vigilantly.

There was actually something he needed to tell both Gilberts.

The tomb vampires…

But this!

Emily had to be dealt with. Fast.

When their drinks are given, Stefan hastily pays, and guides Emily out. He is grateful her car is parked outside, and they enter it.

He leans back to put the drinks in the backseat somewhat impatiently, then sternly faces. "Why do you wanna know?"

"I-"

"You know, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna tell you anyways. Let's see. I've lived a hundred years. There have been good times. My emotions are heightened all the time, so, everything we vampires feel is three times what a regular human does. Um, I haven't really thought about having kids, but even if I did, I can't, cause-"

"I know. Damon told me," Emily said.

Stefan momentarily pauses.

Of course this was Damon's fault.

He refused to let Emily be taken down by his false beliefs.

"Yeah. Do you know what that means? Emily. You're very…maternal towards Elena, and Jeremy. Do you know what it means, to never really **be** a mother?" Stefan asks gravely.

"I…You could always adopt!" she gives.

"This is serious, Emily."

"Damn right it is, Stefan! You're right. On some level, Elena and Jeremy feel…like my own…So, I **know** what it means. I used to change Jeremy's **diapers**. I fought **bullies** for Elena when she was seven. I chased away the monsters under their beds. I was at every one of their school plays! They mean the **world **to me!...And right now, I!..."

"…You what?"

"…I can't protect them…"

"But you are protecting them-"

"Am I?! Anna was at the house last night, and do you know what I did?! I freaked out, and I almost forced Damon to spend the whole night because I was **scared**." Stefan is fairly surprised by the new information. He refrained from asking, because she wasn't done. "I was scared, because if Anna did decide to attack Jer, there was nothing I could do! Because you're ten times stronger, ten times faster-"

"Emily…Being a vampire. It won't give you what you want. It could destroy you. Especially someone like you. My life has been a roller-coaster of uncontrollable bloodlust, and a struggle **to** control." Emily sighs irritably at that, unconvinced. "You don't believe me? Do you know why I drink animal blood? It's not just because I don't like hurting people, it's because I end up **killing** them!" Emily turns to him with surprise in her eyes. "**Every** time I let the blood **in**, I lose it, and I spend a **decade** trying to gain control again, atoning for what I **did**! Is that what you **want**?! What if you hurt your **sister**?! Your brother! How can you atone for **that**?!"

"Damon told me he'd teach me how to control it."

"He can't guarantee that. It's different for every vampire. Some learn control, and others come to it **just** barely."

"So who's to say I can't control it?"

"And who's to say you can?..."

"…"

She was right. She wouldn't like what he had to say….

But he was also right…

He could see the cogs in her mind turning, thinking.

He prayed he'd gotten into her, because if not…if she chooses this…there's no telling how it would end for her…or Elena.

He couldn't let Elena get hurt…and he didn't want Emily to hurt either. He respected, and admired her. She was having a problem, and right now, he wanted to do all he could to help her.

Then there was the other thing he had to tell her…

He was afraid it would erase all he'd been trying to convince her of, and edge her to pick up that poison apple for the fake promise of safety.

She didn't have to know right now…

Maybe when they need to.

He and Damon would try and deal with the issue themselves.

He and Damon needed to have a serious talk about Emily.

XXX

"You're back. How'd it go?" Damon asks, stood on a stool and tuning the grand clock in hall.

"What the hell did you tell her, Damon?!" Stefan demands, standing opposite him with arms firmly crossed. Damon rolled his eyes.

"I told her to talk to you, cause who else can convince her this was a bad idea?"

"You were at her house last night. What were you doing?" Damon pauses his hand and glares at him in hostility.

There's a reason he often avoids Emily for days on. Because it makes him feel…pathetic…that he seeks her out for comfort, and a sense of hope.

It was bothering him that, just then, Stefan was making feel that way, and it bothered him more, cause he didn't want to stop seeing Emily because of it.

"What does this have to do with anything?" he irritably asks, resuming his work.

"Did you talk her into this? Was this **your** idea?" Stefan questions.

Damon refused to feel guilty about suggesting this to Emily, because he didn't believe it was a particularly bad thing, especially now that he was around to help her through it.

"Yes. It was. So?" he tells. Stefan glares at him in disbelief.

"So she **trusts** you, Damon! She **listens** to you."

Damon rips his hand away, and shuts the clock's glass panel with controlled force. He doesn't like it that Stefan is talking as though Emily was without a mind of her own, as though anything he says, she'd just blindly do.

"You're acting like I told her to jump off a building!" he stated, climbing down the stool to face him.

"You know damn well what it's like being what we are. Why would you make her believe this was a solution?!"

"I **didn't. **I told her she wouldn't be able to have kids. I thought that do it for her." Just like Stefan, Damon also thought Emily was fairly maternal. She was, but she's been a mother to her siblings for a long time, that the idea of not having kids sounded impossible to her, because in a way, she already had ones.

"She said she'd **adopt**," Stefan states bizarrely.

"Well. That is a solution," Damon smirks.

"This isn't **funny**, Damon!" Damon takes another step towards him.

"No, it isn't," he spits, expression twisted with sudden frustration. "She was terrified." He recalled the way she looked, the way she acted, just the night before. All those times she'd complained about feeling helpless. "She **is** terrified. Did you tell her about the tomb vampires?" he pushes, only wondering how her doubts about vampirism would most likely vanish upon hearing that the town was practically overrun by them now, and that many of them believe her sister to be Katherine, which puts her in quite the amount of danger. Stefan looks to the ground in shame, as though he ought to have mentioned it, but refused, because he didn't want Emily to change her mind again.

"…No," he replies. Damon smirks in mock.

"What do you think she's gonna do when she finds out?"

"What do you think is gonna happen when she turns, and **kills** someone? If you care so much about how she's feeling, how do you think she'll feel then?!" Stefan was **really** getting on his nerves with the way he spoke if her, the way he felt he was using the fact that Damon cared about her to make him feel bad.

"She has more control than that. And even if it happens, she'll get over it." _'She did it once already.' _

"Oh, because you know her so well?" Stefan retorts.

"**Better** than you do." Stefan shakes his head. Damon was incredibly stubborn, but this wasn't a conversation Stefan could just ignore.

"Okay. What if she falls for you?"

Damon is incredibly taken aback by that.

"…What?" he irritably asks.

"Yeah, Damon. Being a vampire will heighten her feelings for you, and you **know** she has feelings for you, and I mean, **maybe** you feel something for her too…"

He didn't feel for her…

Did he?

"But it isn't love…You're not over Katherine-"

Ugh. Katherine this. Katherine that.

"Yeah, that's what everybody **thinks**. Including **her**…Katherine **ruined** my **life**! She came in between **us**, she **turned** us, and she…" Damon angrily purses his lips, refusing to say that last bit. _'She broke my heart.'_

Stefan's eyes soften on Damon.

This was the first time he openly, seriously, discussed his feelings about her ever since opening the tomb.

Stefan slowly shakes his head.

It just wasn't all true.

"She didn't come in between us, Damon," he calmly said. Damon looked at him, only half bothering to listen. "We did that to ourselves…" Damon eyes him with confliction, reminiscing about their oh-so-long history of rivalries and reunions.

Stefan then looks at Damon seriously. "The fact that you're so angry with what Katherine did, means you're not over her," he tells. Of course, Damon retorts with a look of distaste. Stefan backs down. "Look, I'm gonna go hunting. That guy did a number on me last night," he states. Damon is displeased hearing that.

Even till that day, he was instinctively protective of his younger brother, and it often really showed, and Stefan never overlooked it.

"Just. Please don't encourage her…for **her** sake," he last says, before heading to exit through the back door.

Damon sighs tiredly.

…It was for her sake, that he offered to turn her in the first place…

XXXXX


	30. Chapter 30

It was around seven that same day when the door to the Gilbert residence knocked loudly. Sighing, Elena walked back down the stairs and opened it. Seeing Damon, she frowns deeply. "You're ignoring me," he irritably states, stepping into Emily's view point as she looked over from the couch and paused the movie.

"The six missed calls? Sorry. My phone is dead," Elena coldly replies.

"Hey, what's going on?" Emily asks, approaching them. Damon, who was glistering with rain water, opens his mouth to speak, but Elena beats him to it as she faces her sister.

"You mean other than the fact that he turned my birth-mother?" she angrily states. Emily is taken aback with the fact that Elena knew. When exactly did she find out?

Stefan had told her. He had to.

"Oh," Emily utters as Damon rolls his eyes impatiently. Elena's eyes slowly widen at her sister.

"And of course, you already knew that!" she exclaims in frustration.

"Okay. I don't have time for this. Is Stefan here?" Damon asks, tone urgent. The girls face him.

"No," replies Elena as Emily studied him, growing concerned with his clear tension as he eyed around nervously. Elena notices it too. "Why? Is something wrong?" she asks.

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you," he replies, his phone already in hand as he tried Stefan again. Elena does the same, bringing it to her ear.

"…It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?" she warily asks. Damon sighs.

"Okay. I gotta go," he said, hasting towards the door.

"Damon, wait!" Elena called. "What's going on?" she asks worriedly.

For some reason, Damon glances at Emily, and she could see he was really concerned.

She then nods.

"Okay. We'll help you look," she said, picking a coat from the hooks behind the door and putting it on.

"No. You can't come. Not where I'm going," he said, shaking his head and opening the door.

"Damon, what the hell is going on?!" Elena insists. He ignores her and steps out. Elena also grabs a coat and rushes after him in the rain. Her sister follows suit and closes the door behind her. "Damon!" Elena called through the storm. He opened his car door as he said:

"Get back in the house, Elena!"

He gets in and closes the door. Elena hops into the back, and Damon turns to glare at her. Emily joins them in the front. Damon faces her as well. "Are you kidding me?!" he scowls.

"Drive and talk," Emily calmly told.

As though running out of time, Damon irritably complied.

XXX

"All twenty-seven?!" Elena asks in utter shock and fear. Emily mirrored her reaction, for she was just as taken aback by the news.

"Not all. Pearl said some left town. What the hell is she doing?! In what way does she think I'll be inclined to work with her when she **kidnaps** my brother?!" Damon yells, gripping the car wheel till his knuckles turned white. Emily had never seen him so worried. She opens her mouth to assure him, when Elena asks:

"Work with her and do **what**? Exactly?!" she asks. Damon sighs, too worked up to explain.

"She wants him to tell her who's on the council, and to stop supplying them with vervain," Emily explains for him. Her sister looked all the more confused.

"Wh-"

"Many of the founding families are members of a council trying to rid the town of vampires. Damon supplies them with vervain to keep himself and Stefan away from any suspicions."

"So, they don't know what…you really are?" Elena asks.

"No. And if you wanna keep your boyfriend alive, you'll make sure it stays that way," Damon firmly says. Elena takes this into consideration as Damon parks at the edge of the woods. "Stay here," he says.

Regardless, Elena gets out of the car before Emily can finish calling her name, forcing the later to follow after her.

It was heavily raining, and they were all drenched within minutes.

Damon hears Emily calling her sister aloud, and turns to Elena angrily. "Get the hell back in the car!" he yells.

"No, I'm coming with you!" she stops opposite him, utterly persistent.

It was Stefan.

Stefan.

She had to help get him back.

"You're not going anywhere unless you wanna get **killed**!" Damon retorts.

"And what are you gonna do all by yourself?!" Elena shoots back.

"Damon. She's right. You can't do this alone," Emily says. Damon faces her, refusing to listen.

He wasn't just gonna sit idly by and wait for back up that sure as hell wasn't two human girls.

"For the love of god. Stay here, and **stop** holding me back!" he exclaims, turning on his heel and climbing up the slop. "I mean it!" he yells over his shoulder, spotting Emily pull Elena back firmly by the arm.

Damon lets her deal and heads on.

"Let me go!" Elena demands, pulling her arm free and heading to storm after him. Out of patience, Emily grabs Elena, and slams her into the car, pinning her arm behind her back. "What are you doing?!"

"Pull yourself together and stop this crap! There's nothing you can do!" Emily yells.

"…I love him, Emily!" Elena yells back, tears welling up in her eyes alongside rain the two continued to blink away. Emily sighs, releasing and turning her, then grabbing her by the shoulders.

"He's his brother. He won't come back without him."

XXX

A few minutes later, Damon reappears from the trees, and Elena immediately gets out of the car and towards him. The skies still cry heavily as the darkness falls.

"What happened?! Where is he?!" she frantically asks.

"They have him. I can't get in," he replied, looking devastated.

"Why not?!" Elena pushes.

"Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in," he replied with evident frustration.

"I can get in," Elena starts walking. Damon blocks her path as Emily holds her back.

"You're not going anywhere," she said.

"Let go!" she rips her arm free, and glares furiously at her sister.

"Will you please stop acting so dumb?! That's a house full of vampires, and you're a blood bag walking in!" Damon strictly tells. Elena purses her lips, both semi-convinced and frustrated.

"Why did they take him?" Emily asks. Damon glances at her, a true fear in his eyes that made her heart race.

He flashbacked to what he'd seen: Stefan dragged out on his knees, in tears, bleeding, and screaming as one of the vampires shoved a stake into his side. He would have ripped them limp from limp if he could get in…

The vampire who'd attacked them the night before, Fredrick, he mused that he would drain Stefan of his blood first, as happened to him and all the others vampires sealed in the tomb

before he would kill him…

"Revenge. They want revenge," Damon uttered grimly.

"We gotta do something," Elena pled.

"You **think**!" Damon snaps at her, refusing her right to worry more than he.

"Okay, let's just get in the car and think. Let's go," she guides Elena back inside, and Damon follows to the wheel, thoughts racing for a solution.

…He got it…

Once inside, he immediately starts the car. "Where are we going?" Emily asked from beside him.

"I know what to do," he said.

XXX

They arrive at Mystic Falls High, in search of Alaric Saltzman, the vampire-hunter with a life-preserving ring.

"Stefan's in the house," Elena explains, stood opposite him in his classroom, whilst he reluctantly sat at his desk and listened, wary of Damon in the corner, someone he still hadn't forgiven for turning his wife,

but couldn't resent, for he made it clear that the choice was Isobel's,

and if that wasn't true,

why hasn't she come to find him?

"Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..." Elena glares at her sister behind her, who was seated on the table of one of the front-row classroom desks.

"But I won't let her. For obvious reasons," Emily crosses her arms, gazing firmly back at Elena. Damon smirks from leaning against the wall between two windows, water pouring down audibly against the glass from outside. "Damon told us about your ring, mister Saltzman," Emily says, approaching the man calmly. "Since we're not sure whether or not it functions just for you…we need your help."

Alaric inhales from the pressure, constantly glancing at the threating Salvatore in the room. "Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan," Elena tries. Alaric rises from his seat, eyeing her sympathetically.

"…I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem," he says, disappointing the sisters, and angering Damon.

"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife," Damon said, pushing off the window and walking towards them. The girls doubt the truth behind his words, and Emily is almost certain he is lying, as Alaric, who shot him a menacing glare, said:

"You're lying." Damon stops by Emily.

"Am I?" he retorted. Elena looked to him in shock.

Was he really aware of a way to contact Isobel?

"Why don't you ask her for yourself?" Damon says. Alaric studied him carefully. Damon gave no signs of foul play, and the sisters were simply staring back, awaiting his reply. He says nothing. "Coward," Damon pushed, then faced the other two. "Come on, girls."

Getting his game, Emily guides Elena, who was reluctant, out with them.

Just at the door, Alaric calls back: "Alright, wait

…I'll go…"

XXXXX


	31. Chapter 31

"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night," Damon smirks as Alaric unveils on his desk a pack of different, wooden or vervain weaponry to use against vampires.

"I've you to thank for that," Alaric retorts in cold sarcasm. Emily eyes the weapons admirably, feeling a surge of adrenaline rush within her.

"What are these?" she asks.

"Those are tranquilizer darts filled with vervain," Alaric replies. Emily faces him with a smirk. He smiles back coyly.

"Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out," Damon says from beside her.

"That's your plan? You're just gonna take them all on yourself?" Elena mocks.

"Do you have a better one, super girl?" Damon irritably retorts. Emily rolls her eyes. The two were unbelievable together.

"Yeah," she says, taking out one of the hand-held, metallic vervain darts.

"Whoa. What are you doing?" Alaric says, putting a hand out and taking it from her.

"I'm going with you guys," she says.

"Say what now?" Emily retorts.

"No. No. No. No. No way," Damon shakes his head, facing Alaric, when she speaks again.

"I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out," she says.

"You'll get yourself killed, you mean," Damon states.

"Elena-" Emily starts.

"Look, I'm going, okay?" Elena frantically insists.

"No. You're **not,**" Emily strictly clarifies.

"Oh my god, Emily. Enough with this. You're not my mom!" Elena angrily exclaims. Alaric looks to the two uncomfortably, as Emily's eyes widen, heavily offended, and Damon snaps at Elena.

"Hey. Don't talk to your sister like that," he strictly tells. Elena squints her eyes at him in annoyance, as Emily faces him curiously. He walks towards Elena, getting between her and Emily as he spoke in a colder tone. "And you're not going anywhere. End of story."

"Damon, you can't!"

"I **can**," he cuts her off. Elena eyes him in disbelief as he faces Alaric again. "So, when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way," he states. Alaric nods in understanding. Emily touches Damon's shoulder, and he turns to her expectantly.

"Can I talk to you," she nods at the door. He furrows his brows worriedly, as Elena gazes between them in confusion.

Damon nods, and the two head out the room.

Elena goes to follow, but Alaric holds her back, and tries to convince her they're right.

XXX

"What is it?" Damon asks her, the two out in the dimly lit, school hallway.

"You can't be serious about going in alone," she said, eyeing him intently. Damon inhaled tiredly at that. "I can help you. I was trained to-"

"No, Emily. Whatever you were taught to do, it won't be good enough to keep you alive-"

"But what about **you**?!"

"**I** can't be distracted with your safety! I have to be able to get in and get out, Emily, **please**…Don't make this harder than it already is…" he urgently said.

She looks to the floor, slowly nodding in disappointment and understanding, loathing the fact that, yet again, she felt useless. Damon felt a hint of guilt, regretting his tone.

"Just…please be careful," she softly pled. Damon's features somewhat calmed, his heart pinching at the genuine care in her eyes. He nodded.

"I will…" then he grew silent, and just stood there, as she, as if they were waiting for something.

Emily threw caution into the wind, and gently grabbed his face, kissing him warmly. Damon wasn't all that surprised; he was mulling over doing the same thing, felt he needed to, and he was right. He felt his chest relax as she kissed him yearningly, and he kissed her back with equal force, moaning in relief, a sound that made her heart race as he held her by the back and hip.

"Uh, wow," a voice uttered, causing them to pull apart, and find Elena at the door of the classroom, looking at them in shock and impatience. Alaric appears from behind her with the black duffle bag over his shoulder, and seeing the two stand this closely, before they pulled away, made the nature of their relationship evidently clear.

Elena shakes her head and shaking the image out of her mind as she said: "Alaric said I could drive the car." Both Damon and Emily are irritated by this, hence turning to the teacher.

"She won't get in the house! She'll be a safe distance away," he states. Damon sighs.

"Fine. I'll be with her," Emily nods. Damon faces her again in reluctance. "We won't go in," she calmly assures. Hesitant still, Damon is tired of arguing.

"Okay. Let's go," he said, heading to move.

XXX

Ten minutes in, and the sisters are still waiting within Damon's car for his and Alaric's return with Stefan. Emily was at the driver's seat, and Elena to her side, head whirling to look at one window and the other every few seconds. Emily twirled the stake Alaric had given her around in her hand. She hadn't gotten the chance to pick hers up from the house when she followed Damon and Elena out in haste. Alaric had also given Elena a vervain dart, that she was gripping firmly in her hand.

Emily had asked him about the weapons on their way here, and he said that most he made himself, some were made by a good friend of his named Jack, an artistic wood worker, hence the decorated engravings on some stakes, including the one in her hand.

Alaric and Elena hadn't exactly gotten the chance, nor did they entirely want to, talk about Isobel. There was enough on their minds as is to open up another chapter.

Elena sighed anxiously from beside her. The rain poured audibly heavily down upon the roof of the car, fountain like against the glass and closed windows. The weather was a biting chilly, and they were lucky to have picked up jackets before leaving the house, Emily in a hoody, and Elena in a dark jacket.

The older Gilbert faced her worked up sister, and said nothing, for there was nothing she could say to ease either of their tensions,

as they waited…

The window to Emily's side suddenly knocks, causing her to snap at it in shock as Elena gasped from beside her. It was only Alaric, whose face was blurred by the rain against the glass. "Pop the trunk!" he said in a muffled tone. Emily complied and bend over as Elena got out of the car. Emily momentarily turned, and eased as she saw Elena was only standing out the open door, talking to Alaric, who was stood behind the car, waiting for her to open the trunk.

She did so, as Elena asked: "Did you find him?!"

"No! Not yet!" he shouted back.

When Emily looked up after she was done, and Alaric was putting his duffle bag in,

she notices her sister's door is still open,

and Elena is nowhere in sight.

"Elena!" Emily warily called, getting out of the car to look around.

She sees a figure rushing away, through the woods,

towards the house.

Her eyes widen in horror.

"Elena!" she loudly shouted, bolting after her. At the name, Alaric looked up, to see Emily running off. He cursed as he called after her and she ignored him as she rushed after her currently impulsive.

XXX

Elena crouched when the house was in sight, but continued to rush, climbing over the fencing, and sticking lowly to the brick wall, beneath a window. She could hear voices through the front door not far off when she looked, and she quickly hid back,

but then she noticed stairs leading down to what was surely a basement, where she was confident was Stefan's whereabouts. With dart still in hand, she sharply inhaled, readying herself to move.

As carefully as she could, she hurried towards the stairs, still crouched down.

She was only spotted by her sister, who was forced to move more slowly when in sight of the house.

Quietly climbing down, Elena stopped opposite a door with a glass panel. She carefully tried the knob, which refused to open the door.

There was only one other solution, and she winced at the idea of the noise it would make.

"Elena!" a sound hissed behind her, causing her to jump, then breathe in relief upon noting it was her sister, who was evidently furious. Elena refrained from being intimidated into going back, so instead, she grabbed the door knob, and shook it lightly, looking to her sister in hint for help.

Emily took notice, and looked away, pursing her lips from tension.

Surely she wouldn't help her sister into a house full of vampires.

About to negate, she looked to Elena again, who mouthed her a desperate please.

…After another moment of heavy reluctance, Emily eventually joins her down the stairs, fishing a pin from her jeans' front pocket. Praying she could guide her sister about to safety, and insisting that if Stefan was not down there, they would go, Emily knelt down, put her stake to the ground, and brought focus to the weak lock. Elena watched in amazement, and optimism as Emily worked,

till the lock finally clicked open.

Emily retrieved her weapon, and rose to look at Elena in little hope of going back, but all she did was attempt to go through, forcing Emily to push her back, and take lead.

Elena followed, and Emily pushed her against the wall for stealth. She stopped at a turn, and oh-so-cautiously, peeked around it.

Her heart jumped upon spotting what was surely a vampire at the end of the stony hallway, seated on a chair. She pulls back, and Elena grows wary. Emily thinks over,

when she starts to hear his footsteps shuffle,

and near them.

She froze, and looked to Elena with a finger over her mouth in warning. Elena nodded confidently, gripping the vervain tightly.

The footsteps continued to near them, and near them, affirming the fact that they must have somehow been heard or seen,

till eventually, Emily had to act.

She lunged forward with heavy force, lunging the stake low into the abdomen of the man opposite her, and causing him to scream out in pain. Elena came out, and gawked at the sight of her sister impaling a vampire, who actually looked to be in pain.

The man looked up at her menacingly, and Emily, though slightly panicked, was about to pull it back out, and aim for his heart, as well as Elena was ready to inject him with vervain,

when Damon rushed over, and snapped his neck, causing both girls to jump in surprise.

He eyed them in furious disbelief. "Are you **insane**?!" he demanded.

"I'm not leaving without him," Elena lowly said. Damon eyed her in utter frustration, then turned to Emily, who was pulling her stake out from the man on the floor. He stared at her for a minute, and what she'd just done. She rose and looked up at him expectantly. He reluctantly whirled back, nodding at them to follow.

They stalk carefully past a door that seemed to lead into the house, where loud music was blaring from inside, to the end of the hallway, with a wooden door. He barges in,

to find Stefan tied by the arms to the ceiling, feet barely reaching the floor, body smudged in blood where there were wounds that had healed, and he seemed only half-conscious. Damon surpassed the rage rising in his chest as he rushed in to free him. Stefan took notice, and was relieved for a moment, till he spotted Elena and Emily entering behind him.

Damon then noticed another vampire strapped to a chair near Stefan, and approached him as Stefan weakly said: "Elena…you shouldn't be here…" She did not reply as she neared him, eyeing his state in sorrow and anger.

Stefan notices Damon is about to stake the other vampire, Harper, and yells out: "Unh! No. No. No. Not him." Damon holds his hand, and turns back irritably, to the ropes that were tying him up.

"Whatever. Let's get you down," he retorted.

"There's vervain on the ropes," Stefan warns. Damon exhales in extreme annoyance.

"Emily. Pull that," he calls. She immediately complies, and rushes forward to do so. Damon walks back to Elena's side, putting his arms around Stefan.

When Emily unties the ropes, Stefan falls forward, groaning in pain, but is held up by his brother, who then leaves him in Elena's arms as he glances warily out the door. "All right, let's go. Clothes on," he says.

"Wait!" Stefan calls. Damon faces him warily.

"What? Guys, come on. We have to get out of here," he urges. Stefan bends over and pulls a stick of wood out of Harper's leg, sighing coarsely from weakness as he moved. Damon rolled his eyes. "Come on, we gotta go!"

Emily rushes forward and pulls out the other one as Elena covers Stefan with his shirt and jacket. Harper gives Emily a look of gratitude, and she nods at him, rising to follow after her sister.

They head to Damon at the door, and he faces them again as they cautiously walk back out. "Can you get him in the car?" he asks.

"Yeah," Elena nods.

"Alright, go," he told.

"What about you?" Emily warily asks, appearing from behind them.

"You rescue. I'll distract. Go," he tells.

"Damo-" she rejects, but he cuts her off.

"Emily. Now. Move!" he strictly said, giving her a firm push forward.

Reluctantly, and out of clear urgency, she complies.

XXXXX


	32. Chapter 32

Lights, blurring.

Voices, slowly fading.

Wind, shooting cold.

Body, growing numb.

Pain, so consuming,

she could barely breathe.

"Emily, no! Come on!" Elena exclaimed, tears streaming down her face as Stefan attempted to feed her his blood.

Behind them, was Fredrick, the vampire who'd kidnapped Stefan, and had gone after them to halt their escape, and kill him.

They fought back,

and with the branch he would've ended Stefan with, he drove into Emily, who was coming at him fast.

"Stefan, it's not working!" Elena cried, looking at her sister's bleeding side-wound. Stefan breathed out heavily, also starting to panic. It had thankfully stopped raining minutes ago, making easier to commune.

"I'm too weak. I can't…" he grimly confesses, forcing his blood into her mouth as she lay limply on the ground.

Unsure what else to do, Elena, who was the reason Fredrick was vervained and out cold, calls out loudly: "DAMON!"

XXX

Stood outside the house, and wary of the multiple approaching vampires, with Alaric, who'd come for the girls, by his side, Damon hears Elena's distant screams calling him.

His heart jumps, and surely the group opposite him heard it too, all but Alaric, who Damon then firmly grabbed, and zoomed off with towards the car.

There in a minute, Damon releases Alaric, who falls in shock and unbalance against the car, then turns to the calls of help.

He freezes.

"Damon, I can't heal her!" Stefan tells, looking to him anxiously. Gathering his wits, Damon rushes forward to her side.

"What the hell happened?!" he exclaimed, getting to his knees and pulling Emily protectively from Elena's arms and into his. He looks her over in urgency, and identifies the wound's location, barely listening as Elena explained:

"He just came out of nowhere, and tried to kill Stefan!" Hearing so, Damon looks up at them, who were crouched opposite him. Then he looked about where Elena was pointing. He sees a body, and grows wary. He then looks and sees Alaric approaching them worriedly.

"Alaric. Make sure he's dead," Damon tells. Alaric acknowledges his request, and nods, heading to do just that with a stake in hand. Damon's gaze falls on Stefan, who seemed to be in pain and discomfort as he stole starved glances at Emily's bleeding side. "Elena. Put Stefan in the back of the car," he instructs. Elena, who was overwhelmed with her sister's state, as though can't process the order. "Now!" he yells, snapping her out of it. She gets to her feet and pulls Stefan up with her as Damon averts his full attention to Emily, who was struggling to keep her eyes open.

He hastily bites into his wrist, and cradles her head against his shoulder. "Come on," he encouraged, tone tainted with concern and fear. She moaned tiredly, unable to move accordingly. Damon fixed his wrist against her mouth, blood pouring from his wound into her. She seemed to gain some strength back, as she was able to grasp his arm for support. "There you go," he uttered, smiling lightly in relief.

From behind him, Alaric stood and watched in amazement as Elena, who had seated Stefan in the back seat, rushed back towards her sibling, and raised her shirt to check.

The wound was closing up…

For a very short minute, everything Alaric believed about vampires bearing nothing but death,

faltered.

"What did you do?" a woman demands. Opposite the group, stood Pearl, Anna's mom, and her remaining group of tomb vampires behind her and amongst the trees in the night's darkness. All but Damon grow very wary.

"Me?! Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother, and now this!" he exclaims, glancing at Emily, who was meekly recovering. Pearl takes this into consideration, notices that three of those present were human, and Stefan seemed just barely breathing within the car beside them. She inhales from frustration.

"Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with," she says.

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them," Damon spits. Pearl gulps in guilt.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she confesses. Damon scoops Emily off the ground, he pauses before walking to the car to give Pearl a final word.

"Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it…"

XXX

In the car and on the road, Damon feels a great deal of icy wind, and looks to see that the window beside Emily was not there at all. Furious that even his car was busted, Damon's attention is more attracted to the girl balled up in herself from the cold. He shrugs off his jacket, able still to keep a hand on the wheel, as he then put it on her. "Elena," he called for help. She quickly leaned forward from the middle seat behind, and assisted him in covering up her sister from the cold.

"Thanks," the older Gilbert muttered.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Alaric worriedly asks from behind Damon's seat.

"She'll be fine," he confidently replied. Emily glanced at him with uncertainty in her eyes, and he knows immediately what she's thinking.

Now was not the time nor place to discuss this, but her mind seemed sternly made up.

In sight of the town, Damon asks: "Where do you want me to drop you off, Rick?" Acknowledging that apparently Damon was talking to him, Alaric replies:

"Uh, any where's fine. The Grill," he decides.

Damon drops him off, and not ready to part with the Gilberts just yet, drives the rest to the boarding house.

XXX

"How are you feeling?" Elena asks Emily, who was seated on the couch in the Salvatores' living room. Damon had guided them in, and left to 'get something.' Elena helped Stefan up to his room, and had gone down to give him privacy, and check on her sibling.

"I'm fine. It's completely gone," Emily replies with an assuring smile as Elena took to her side. Elena nods, reassured, then inhales and shakes her head.

"I'm so sorry, Emily…If I wasn't so-"

"Elena-"

"reckless, this never would've-"

"Elena."

"You almost…" Elena is unable to even finish the sentence, pursing her lips as more tear glistered in her sad, brown eyes. Emily's heart clenched. She scooted closer to her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Elena, look at me," she tells. Elena, reluctant with shame, complies. "I'm fine. Everything is gonna be fine. I promise."

"…How?"

"Just trust me," Emily assures her.

Assures her of what?

Elena didn't know.

Did Emily?

Did Emily **know **what she was promising, what she was doing, what she was intent on doing…

to keep that promise.

In spite of not knowing, Elena was partially calmed by her sister's words.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairway diverts their attention. They see Stefan, fully dressed, attempting to climb down in slight struggle, and Elena rushes to her feet to help him. Emily, who stubbornly refused to act disabled, rose off the couch to help as well.

"Stefan, you should be resting," Elena caringly said as she put his arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, I just…" he looks to Emily, and pauses, a conflicted look in his eyes. "I wanted to thank you," Emily raises her brows in un-expectance, "and to apologize, for what happened to you."

"Stefan," she shakes her head in dismiss. "I know for a fact, you would have done the same for me," she smiles.

She may have known Stefan for a short time, but he was easier to read then his brother. He was a genuinely caring person, ready to help those in need.

Stefan smiles back, visually still weakened by everything that happened to him. "Of course," he told.

"Hey," Damon calls, approaching them. He makes eye-contact with all, momentarily pausing on Emily, who seemed physically stronger as she stood, before he faced Stefan. "I left you something in the kitchen. Couldn't find any squirrels, but I ran into a fox. Should do, right?" he smirks sarcastically. Stefan smiles, warmed by his brother's efforts.

"Yeah. Thanks, Damon."

"Yeah, whatever," Damon brushes off. "You just stop getting your ass kicked."

"We should, probably get going," said Emily. All turned to face her in reluctance. "Let Stefan rest," she says to her sister, who then nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, you probably need to rest too," Elena said. At that, the brothers decide against encouraging them to stay.

"…Okay. I'll drive you," Damon says.

"No. You should stay with Stefan," Emily declines.

"No, it's late. You shouldn't walk home. Let him drive you," Stefan tells, getting off Elena and leaning against the stairs, trying to stand up straight. His tired form greatly gets to Damon, who clenches his jaw from tension. Emily shakes her head at Stefan, as she faces Damon again, and sees the worried look in his eyes towards his brother.

"Damon," she softly called. He averted his gaze to meet hers expectantly. "Please stay with him, at least for today, just in case," she says, setting a small sense of concern within him of what might happen if he left. Stefan was about to argue against that, even though he and Elena were also made worried by her words. Then Damon dug out his car keys and faced Elena.

"Can you drive?" he asks.

"Yeah," she nods ethically. He hands her the keys.

"Damo-" Emily was about to decline him offering them his car, when he cut her off by resuming:

"Make sure you put her to bed, and keep her warm. She lost a lot of blood," he instructs. Emily sighs at him ignoring her, but is content with his caring tone, even if it was masked by a certain firmness.

"Okay…and thank you…for saving her life," Elena tells.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to, if you'd had just stayed pu-"

"Damon," Emily cut him off, smirking. "Will you just…take a compliment?" she mused, placing a delicate hand on his chest, causing him to immediately shut up. "Thank you," she uttered sincerely, causing his gaze to soften, and his chest to ache. She then faces her sister. "Come on," she beckoned, removing her hand and heading for the door. Elena kissed Stefan goodbye, and he smiled warmly at her, before she left as well.

The door shut behind them, but Damon's confused tension did not reside. He caught Stefan's gaze, who was smirking at him knowingly. Damon ignored it and said: "Come on, prick. Let's get you some vegan lunch." He hauled Stefan off the stairs and towards the kitchen.

XXXXX


	33. Chapter 33

_"Hey,"_ Damon answers her over the phone the next morning, around eleven.

"Hey," she retorts from within her bedroom, on her bed, sounding tired.

She was. She was very tired.

_ "How are you feeling?"_ Damon asks after picking up the tone, seated in an armchair in his room.

"I'm okay," she gives, despite her voice indicating otherwise. "How's Stefan?" she asked. Damon glances at his closed bedroom door.

_ "All well and broody,"_ he said sarcastically. Emily smiles.

"Good…" she flashbacked to the night before, and how Damon was the whole time. "You were really worried about him," she said, feeling her heart jump. Despite having wanted to somehow reassure him the whole time, she was also content with how much he cared for his brother, how scared he was…It made him seem so…human.

Damon scrunches his face at her words, refusing to be dubbed caring or emotional, something ironic. _"Not worried, just pissed he made me go through all that trouble to save his ass,"_ he retorted. Emily smirks knowingly.

"You can't fool me, Damon. When it comes to our younger siblings, we're always willing to kick ass for them." Damon rolls his eyes at that.

_ "Why don't you cut to the chase, Em, _

_ and tell me why you're really calling?"_ he said.

Emily's expression falls.

Why she was really calling…

All night. All. **Night**.

She couldn't stop thinking.

She remembered the horrid moment,

she thought she was gone. And the moments after it, and the moments before it…

She remembered a sharp, hissing pain when Fredrick shoved the tree branch into her side. She remembered the shock she felt at the inevitability of losing strength, her body growing heavy, her knees weakening, her footing betraying her,

and it was as if she was staring death itself in the face as Fredrick glared menacingly at her, in a form of victory.

Then she remembered the shock on his own face, when Elena injected him with vervain, before pure rage consumed his features. He mercilessly ripped the branch out of Emily's side, causing her to scream, and fall.

That wasn't the worst part…

Before he succumbed to the paralyzing herb,

he turned, and stalked to Elena.

It was the shortest, and longest few seconds Emily had ever experienced.

The true horror lied in the fact that she couldn't **will** her body to **move** as needed, as she crawled to keep him from harming her sister.

It was, without a doubt, the worst thing she'd ever felt.

…She never wanted to feel it again…

"…Guess I can't fool you either," she lowly said. Damon smiled in a sense of disappointment.

She couldn't fool him, because he already knew. So did Stefan. The former was more certain,

her mind was made up.

And it honestly

scared him.

No, being a vampire was not a blessing. It was a burden.

But it also meant power, the power she thought, and so did he, was what she needed to protect herself, and those she loved.

The thought of bestowing that heavy burden upon her, scared him as much as the panic he felt

at the thought of losing her…

Yes, she was fine, but what if…

He didn't even want to consider it,

and just as her, was determined to never ask that if again.

_"Nope,"_ he retorted. Considering the fact that he wasn't chastising her right now, she assumed he was willing to listen, not that she doubted he would before.

They needed to talk, some place…alone…

"…Is Stefan home?" she asked. Damon understands why she's asking. Yes, he was.

_ "I'll come pick you up, we'll find somewhere to go."_

XXX

Emily tells Jenna she's headed to college, exits the house, and joins Damon in his car, as he was waiting outside. They ponder where to go, and Emily immediately suggests the motel, something Damon finds odd. She explains that a motel room was the only place she could think of where they could freely talk, and with the fact that vampire roamed town, and ears were everywhere, Damon agreed.

The car-ride is somewhat tense. Second thoughts were poking at both of them, and neither wanted to half-start the conversation in the car, so they said nothing, till they arrived at the motel.

"Damon, I was gonna pay! This was **my** idea!" Emily complained upon entering the room and Damon shuts the door.

"Come on, Emily. You've known me long enough to know it doesn't work that way with me," he nonchalantly retorted. Emily raises a brow at the statement. Cause he was such a standup guy to never let a lady pay?

"Oh really?" she mused as he made his way to the double bed and sat.

"Get over yourself," he said, leaning his back against the headboard and putting his feet up. "So, why'd you drag me into a motel room, huh? Wanted to get me alone," he smirks flirtatiously, using humor to break the ice. She rolls her eyes at the last statement, and heads to sit opposite him on the side of the bed, her expression growing serious.

"You know why…" she quietly uttered, caressing the heavy white blanket of the bed in absence. Damon's expression hardens as well.

Yeah, he knew why.

He'd thought about this a lot. Not more than herself, but still.

He'd thought about convincing her not to go through it, but greatly doubted that would work. He thought about flat-out rejecting her request,

but what if her life was in danger again,

what if this time, he isn't able to reach her in time, and lives the rest of his ridiculously long life regretting his rejection?

Then he thought about actually saying yes, and the plan they would have to follow, to go through with the far-from-easy process.

He leans forward to gain her full attention. "If we do this, you'll have to stay with me and Stef for a while. Your aunt won't like that," he starts.

"You'll compel her," Emily replied. Damon is taken aback by her quick answer. "And Jeremy," she continued. "I'll talk to Elena…**after**…it's done."

"…You really thought this through, huh?" he smirks in minor sarcasm. Emily's expression remains still, and plain.

She thought it through?

You think?!

"…Do you know, that feeling you felt, when you couldn't get into that house, couldn't get to Stefan," she started. Damon's expression hardens in discomfort. She wasn't trying to displease him, but she had to make her point clear. "That's exactly how I felt, when I thought I was gonna die." Hearing that said out-loud makes him all the more disturbed, and he quickly negates it.

"But you didn't," he pointed out.

"But I could've, if that vampire would have just aimed at the right place." Damon looks away, not wanting to hear this. He didn't like to ponder bad outcomes. What good came of that? "What scared me more than losing my life, was the horror I saw in Elena's eyes," she said, trying to recapture his gaze, **needing** him to understand. He faces her reluctantly. "…The idea…that I was abandoning her, and Jeremy…And if I wasn't there…it could've been her, and I can't…I **can't** let that happen, Damon." Damon is sick of the persistent mention of her siblings for one simple reason. "And I know you get that, so please. I'm done being talked out of this. By you. By Stefan-" Damon cuts her off by lunging forward and speaking firmly:

"No, you need to put your siblings aside, and just…think about yourself for a minute…Think about…how this is going to affect **you.**" Emily looks away, sighing.

"Damon-"

"No, see, cause this is **your** life you're turning upside down, not theirs. It's **you**…You have no idea-"

"I know **exactly **how hard this is going to be, Damon. You think I haven't thought about the bloodlust, the hurting someone, the hurting my family, the **killing**?!" Damon is slightly taken aback by her outburst, more so by her list-down of every horrible thing that defines a vampire. "I am doing this for one clear reason, and since being a vampire doesn't make me **mindless**! I will do everything in my power, take **every** precaution, to make sure that **none** of that happens! And I am trusting you…" her tone grows softer, "to do whatever you need to, to control me, when I need controlling. Because, I know for a fact that you're up for that…The question is…are you willing to?"

…

XXX

Putting together a well-thought plan, and needing to do this as soon as possible, considering the fact that the tomb vampires were still very much a threat to everyone in Mystic Falls, Emily and Damon go to her house, after determining the whereabouts of its members.

Asking Jenna on the phone, she states that Elena went to Stefan's and that she was still at home, and so was Jeremy.

Good, because they were the first step.

Putting her guilt for playing them aside and convincing herself it was for their own good, Emily removed their vervain accessories, and had Damon compel them one after the other.

He tells them to be okay with Emily spending a few days at his, and that they were close friends, as an excuse to tell those who may ask. He also tells them that if they see her drinking what looks like blood, they should know its pomegranate juice, and they don't like the kind she drinks. This surprises Emily, but he explains it is a smart way for her to feed without them asking questions, and that he hopes she can convince Elena, or he is always willing to compel her too, something Emily assures him she will handle herself after it is done.

"Yeah? Why after? Cause you know she isn't gonna like this?" he asks, sitting on her wheeled desk chair as she packed a bag for him to take to his house, where he said he'd have a room prepared for her.

"Damon. Remember how she reacted when she found out you turned her birth mom?" she asks in indication as she paced from one side of the room to the next, checking a notepad on her bedside table every time she was done with something.

"Oh, yeah," he hisses, then smirks. "That wasn't fun…So you're not really giving anyone a chance to talk you out of this, huh?"

"She won't understand. Besides. I let Stefan try. I let you," she glances at him pointedly as she folded another shirt, the idea of temporarily 'moving' too surreal for her to take into full mental consideration.

"Right…" Damon acknowledges.

A thought then pops into his mind as she packs. "You might wanna think about making the most out of today with them. You're not gonna see them for a while, and until Bonbon comes back to cook up that daylight ring, it'll be creepy night visits supervised by myself, or Stefan," he muses. Emily process carefully his words.

"I told you, Bonnie's coming back tomorrow. And…" she pauses, facing him. He gives her a knowing look. "…You're right…" she then resumes, trying not to dwell on the topic. "When I'm done with packing, I'll call Elena, and we'll make it a day."

Then she sighs, unable **not** to think about it.

Damon notes her sudden discomfort. "…Getting second thoughts?" he asks.

"No, just…Like I said: it's not a piece of cake situation." Despite still uncertain himself, he admired her persistence and will to keep it together.

"Well, look on the bright side. You get to live with me," he said in an attempt to lighten her mood, tone flirty. Emily gave him a look.

"That's actually one of the things I'm worried about," she smirked. Damon feigned a disbelieving expression.

"Now, why is that? I am **perfectly** polite," he noted sarcastically, causing her to laugh in much needed amusement.

XXX

"Hello," Damon greets nonchalantly, entering his house later that day with a cooler in hand, headed to the basement. Stefan immediately assumes it is filled with blood bags, and pays it no mind as he, in the living room, on his couch, re-averts his attention to Elena beside him.

Only several minutes later, Elena is called by Emily, and told to come home, so that they may spend a 'family night' together, 'just them.' Hearing so, Elena is a bit confused, and mentions to Stefan that she's worried that Emily hadn't entirely processed, nor talked, about what had happened to her the night before.

Damon, who heard the whole thing, exits the basement smirking, as he headed to the stairs for his bedroom. This, Stefan notices, as he tells Elena that he was sure Emily was fine, and to go have fun.

Shortly after she leaves, Stefan goes to find Damon upstairs.

"May I help you?" Damon asks, sitting near an old trunk box behind his bed.

"What are you doing?" Stefan retorts curiously, approaching him. Damon closes the box and rises.

"Rearranging stuff," he replied, clapping his hands from dust. "What do you want?"

"Did you talk to Emily?" he asks.

"Why?" Damon shot back as he poured himself a drink.

"I'm worried about her," Damon, who had his back to Stefan, scowls in surprising irritation at that. "Elena said she hasn't said much about what happened, and you and I both know what's been on her mind lately."

"She's perfectly fine," Damon nonchalantly replied, turning to face Stefan as he sipped from the glass.

"Yeah? So she hasn't mentioned anything to you?"

"Yeah, I think she said something about you being a very nosy, irritating person," Damon smirks in sarcasm, leaving the room as Stefan rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, Damon," he said, following after him.

"So am I."

"Damon, you need to make sure she doesn't take this seriously, cause it's not an option," Stefan explained as Damon sighed tiredly, descending the stairs. "It's not a solution to what she's afraid of."

"Are you done?" Damon is on his way to the living room, when Stefan blocks his path.

"Damon, this isn't something you can keep dodging," he says seriously, ignoring the look of extreme irritation in Damon's eyes. "She needs to hear it from **you**." Damon purses his lips irritably. He could see why Emily wanted to do this **before **she told either of Stefan and Elena. Unable to find a fitting lie or excuse, Damon simply pushes past him.

XXX

Emily spends the whole day with Jenna, Jeremy, and Elena, making diner, watching movies, and playing board games. The gathering was something they all found they really needed, and were grateful for Emily's suggestion, except Elena, who falsely tied Emily's comfort-needing attitude to the fact that she almost died the night before. She decides not to mention this, and to encourage their fun and laughter for Emily's sake.

At the end of the night, when everyone resides to bed, and Emily shuts the door upon herself, the situation seems to really set in, and she has to assure herself several times that this was not a goodbye.

She takes a short nap, barely, and when her alarm buzzes around two am, she makes sure everyone's asleep before she texts Damon to pick her up.

He arrives at her window, and puts on her backpack instead of herself. Then they climb onto the roof, so as not to accidently awaken anyone using the front door.

The air is cool, and the streets are eerily quiet. Damon balances her as she attempts to stand on the roof-tiles outside her window. "I want you to put your arms around my neck," he instructs. She complies. "And close your eyes."

For a very short moment, she feels warm, and peaceful, as he brought his arms around her, and held her firmly,

then she felt a very strong rush of air, causing her to squeeze her eyes further shut, and tighten her grip on him as her stomach violently flipped.

Then it stopped.

She opened her eyes warily, to find she is looking at her house from the outside. Damon slowly pulls away, but still keeps a hold on her, knowing her balance was a bit off due to the unnatural speed. "Wow," she utters, attempting to process what had happened.

"Yeah? Just think, by tomorrow, you'll be able to do it too," Damon winks at her.

She takes what he'd said into consideration, and can't help the light smirk at the thought. Yet, when they're driving down the road to his house, she begins to grow anxious, and wary. _'Oh my god, I'm really doing this.'_

The whole ride is a struggle to pull it together, and an attempt to ignore the pit growing in her stomach.

She was scared.

They arrive at the boarding house, and Damon flies her up into the window in his room that he left open.

Once inside…they face each other…

It was time…

XXXXX


	34. Chapter 34

Yawning, Elena exits her bathroom, headed for her bed again, three am that same night.

She gets the urge to check up on Emily, and decides to do that first. She heads for her room, and quietly creaked the door open. She steps in, and sees that she is soundly sleeping on the bed, covered to the head with the blanket.

Elena lightly smiles, then feels a chill of air from Emily's apparently open window. She rushes in, quietly still, to close it. When it is shut firmly, Elena turns to head out,

but freezes, upon seeing the bed from the window's side.

With just enough moonlight beaming in, Elena nears the bed in both shock and confusion.

She takes the blanket by the edge, certain that what was beneath it, was a pillow!

But…it couldn't be…

She slowly pulls it away.

…Her eyes widen.

XXX

Furrowing his brows at the sound of his phone ringing, Stefan groggily reaches out to take it from his bedside table. Upon seeing Elena's name, and the time, he props himself with an elbow on his pillow, and picks up. "Elena. Is everything okay?" he worriedly asked.

_"Stefan. I'm so sorry to call at this time-"_

"No. It's okay-"

_"It's just that, I walked into Emily's bedroom, and found a __**pillow**__**sleeping**__ on her bed!"_ This greatly confuses Stefan.

"Slow down," he says, sitting up.

_"I think she snuck out, which is so unlike her,"_ Stefan grows greatly wary upon coming to full consciousness and recalling the fact that Emily has been a matter of concern lately, _"but her phone's out of service, and I just. I think she might be with Damon,"_ Elena continues. At the mention of his brother, Stefan immediately gets up, now greatly worried. _"Could you please just check?" _she asks.

Stefan is already at his door. "Yeah. Of course. Give me a minute," he tells, climbing down the attic, to the second floor with the dozen or so bedrooms, including Damon's.

Without warning, he barges in.

And immediately halts.

There, sat Damon, on a chair he brought to the side of his bed, and his back to the door.

Taking a few wary steps inside,

Stefan's eyes go as wide as window, and his heart starts to race in mad concern.

_"Stefan…Stefan?"_ called Elena. He finds no words to describe what he's discovered.

Emily lies unconscious on the bed.

He can't hear her heart beat.

_"Stefan, what's going on?"_

"You might wanna get that," Damon told from where he sat, eyes fixed on the Gilbert's face.

Damon's voice seems to snap Stefan out of his daze. Stefan's fists clench in rage, and he takes care not to break the phone, as he says: "She's here."

_"Is she okay?"_

"…I think you need to be here…"

XXX

"What the hell did you do?" Stefan asks him in disbelief, after hanging up with Elena.

"What she asked me to do," Damon plainly answered, not bothering to look up at him.

"And you!" Stefan's own shock and anger shuts him up. He eyes Damon in frustration as he lowly said: "If you really cared about her," Damon frowns at the incredibly annoying and repeated statement his brother often used, "you never would've let her go through with it."

Damon, who had been bottling up his concern and second thoughts about her transition all day, has had enough, and snaps.

He shoots off the chair and shoves hard Stefan into the wall by the door, gripping the collars of his shirt. "You have **no** idea how I feel about her!" he wrathfully told. "And you have no idea what is and **isn't** good for her!"

He then releases a very taken aback Stefan. "Get out," he told, pointing at the door, before he turned on his heel, and back to the chair.

Stefan studies him for a long moment,

sighs in defeat,

and leaves.

It was too late to change things…

At his exit, Damon breathes in relief, and falls back into the chair, looking at Emily in great debate of what they'd done.

_"Are you sure you wanna do this? It's a one-way ticket," he told her, his hands cupping her small, delicate face. Nodding persistently, and in spite of her fear-filled, racing heart, she said:_

_ "Do it…" _

_ He eyed her intently, insuring she wouldn't back down. All she did was look back at him, waiting…_

_ He snapped her neck._

XXX

"Oh my god…" uttered Elena in pure shock and horror upon seeing her sister's body. Stefan, who had cautiously explained the situation to her, stood behind her, greatly disappointed with what had happened. Damon completely ignored her as he remained on that seat, waiting for Emily to awaken.

Elena's gaze fell on him, and a rage she'd never felt before filled her from head to toe. "YOU!" she screamed, causing Damon to wince at the sound. She lunged at him, but Stefan held her back quickly, wary of how Damon might react. "She trusted you! How could you?!"

"How could I **what**, exactly?!" Damon irritably asked, facing Elena.

"You **ruined** her **life**!" the Gilbert screamed, tears dripping from her eyes. Damon rolled his at that.

"Elena, come on," Stefan dragged her out of the room to calm her down.

Damon faces Emily again. "Bet you're happy you're sleeping through all this," he said in mock.

Then he scowled, refusing to hear Elena's harsh words still echo in his ear. More so, he also refused to have Elena blab her mouth like that when Emily woke up. "You owe me one," he tells her, before rising to follow after them.

XXX

"After **everything**! Why would he do this?!" Elena cried.

"Elena," Stefan tried to get her attention.

"Why would he-"

"She asked him to."

At that, Elena pauses, her brows deeply furrowing.

"…What?" she uttered.

"And for your information," Damon called, interrupting their hallway discussion. "You're the reason she wanted to turn."

"Damon," Stefan warned as Elena grew further confused.

"She turned, because she wanted to keep you, and that brat little brother of yours, safe," he smirked grimly. Elena's eyes widen. "So if anyone's 'ruined her life,'" he makes quotes in the air.

"Damon, that's enough!" Stefan demands. Damon shoots him a glare, before easing up.

"She got my point," he winked at Elena, before walking back into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Elena takes a long minute to process what he'd said, then the look on Stefan's face grasps her attention. "…Did you know about this?" she asked in un-expectance. Stefan looks to the side in shame.

"When I met her at the Grill yesterday, she was asking what it was like to be a vampire," he confesses. Elena's eyes widen. "I figured out what she was planning, and I tried to convince her it wouldn't help her-"

"Help her with what?" Elena shook her head in great confusion.

"…Help her fight back…Keep you safe…"

"…So it's true…This is…This is my fault."

"No, no, no, Elena," Stefan assured, cupping her face. "This was **her** decision."

"But sh-"

"We'll take care of this. She'll be okay, I promise…"

XXXXX


	35. Chapter 35

A sharp gasp for breath brings her back.

Everyone in the room jumps to attention.

Emily's chest burns as it refills itself with air. Her vision and hearing are blurry and muffled. She sees faces around her, and feels she is moving, or being moved, to sit up.

Something is hovering from side to side opposite her, and when her eyes adjust, she sees it's a hand. She blinks, and looks to her left, acknowledging Damon's face, who then smiles lightly at her. "Welcome back to the world of the living," he smirks. She can barely process what he'd said, but his presence puts her at ease.

She sees Stefan, cross-armed and standing at the edge of the bed, and she turns at the voice to her right. "How are you feeling?" it asked. She recognizes the voice as her sister's, which causes her heart to jump in wariness as she looks to see it was in fact Elena.

Elena continued to eye her in extreme concern, something that beckoned Emily to speak up. "I…feel fine…" she says.

And besides confused, she realized she actually felt fine.

She faces Damon again, who looked uncomfortable. "Did it work?" she asks. Hearing the question, Damon smirks again.

"Well, either that, or you're un-killable," he says.

Taking this in, Emily inhales a shaky breath, before pushing herself to get up. Damon gets off the chair and to his feet, taking her arm as she rose. She spots a spacious bathroom, she approaches it. Everyone follows after her, and Damon releases her, as she seemed able to walk.

She faces the wide mirror atop the double-sink. She stared back at her paler self, and placed her hands on the ceramic counter as she neared the glass, uncertain what she was looking for. Damon appears at her side, and Elena on the other. Stefan remains at the bathroom's threshold. "If you're expecting a cute little pair of fangs," Damon says as Emily faces him, "it's not happening till you feed." Elena grows tense at that, so does Stefan, who refrains from asking how she intends to do so.

There's a muffled, drum-like, beating sound that grasps her attention. She looks to her side, to find Elena.

The sound was coming from Elena.

She could hear her heart racing.

Could hear her…blood flow…like a river behind glass…

Then she grew hungry.

Her stomach pinched with such a hunger, she panicked, and quickly faced the other side, walking and bumping into Damon. "I…" she breathes shakily as he put an arm around her. His embrace is quickly effective, calming her nerves as his scent consumed her, and she could hear his heart instead. Understanding her state, Damon faced Elena.

"Yeah. Walking hot-dog," he calls. Elena, who grew more concerned for Emily, noted Damon was speaking to her. "You need to leave." Elena furrows her brows at him. Stefan steps in calmly.

"Elena. Come on," he said, guiding her out the room. "Let's go downstairs."

When he hears the door shut, and feels Emily ease in his arms, he pulls back, and studies her for a moment. "What is she doing here?" Emily asks, eyes fixed behind Damon.

"I think you're pillow dummy wasn't very convincing. She had Stefan looking for you, then we got caught red-handed," Damon glares playfully at her. Emily sighs tiredly.

"Shit," she muttered.

"Hey, come on," he nodded at the bed and walked her back to it. She sat back down, and Damon, who was headed to get her the blood bag he had for her in the drawer, pauses, and sits opposite her instead. She eyes him expectantly as he seemed reluctant to speak, but eventually did. "While you were out and letting me handle our dear younger siblings. **All** by myself," he smirked sarcastically, causing Emily to bite her lip apologetically, "It was two against one with you joining into Stefan's squirrel diet-"

"Damon, I said I wouldn't do that. Cause it makes him weaker than all the other vampires, and this isn't why I tu-"

"I know. Just needed to confirm that, before…" he rises, and heads for that drawer.

"This," he said, closing the drawer, and facing her,

with a blood bag…

Her expression grows blank as she stared at the crimson liquid

as though enchanted.

He re-approaches her, and watches first hand as her face changed at the sight of the blood.

His face grows grim as he sits opposite her.

He could see dark veins shifting beneath her reddened eyes, watched her mouth part, heard her heart race.

There was no more regretting. No more thinking. No more looking back.

It was done.

This is the result, and he had to face it.

Hardening his features,

Damon pops open the small plastic lid, and hands her the bag.

Her hands reach out before she wills them to, and the moldable bag is in then within her grasp.

She hesitates, and looks at Damon as if for permission.

He gives her a firm nod…

…She brings the tip to her lips.

The scent hits her nose like the most delicious thing she'd ever smelled, urging her to ascend it to her mouth.

She does…

She takes a sip, and the minute the blood seeps through,

it feels as though

life itself

was being poured into her.

She inhaled deeply, and her eyes squeezed shut to savor the taste, squeezing the bag and sucking in as much as she could at once.

Damon couldn't bring himself to watch, and found his gaze persistently faltered as though he was refusing to look at a mistake he made and acknowledge it.

…Was it a mistake?...

XXX

Emily and Damon climb down to deal with Elena and Stefan's untimed discovery of their plan. Damon had already explained most of everything to them when she was out, but it is evident they needed to hear the situation from her for confirmation.

Stefan and Elena rise from the couch adjacent to the fireplace upon Damon and Emily's entry. The latter pair approach them, and reside on the sofa opposite them. Damon rests his arm against the back, behind Emily, who leaned forward with elbows on knees. Stefan and Elena re-seat as well, neither certain how to start or what to say, and are both visually disturbed.

She speaks first, with as much sincerity as she could muster. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Both of you." Damon refrains from smirking at the fact that she wasn't **close** to sorry, and that it was **her** idea not to tell them. "But this was something I had to do, and something I knew you wouldn't approve of." Stefan cuts her off.

"It's…already happened," he says in dismiss. "…Now we just have to deal with the outcome."

"Exactly," Damon agrees as though in relief. Elena shakes her head in displeased confusion. Apparently, the 'moving on' wasn't happening just yet, to Damon's great distaste.

"I just…wish you'd have talked to me about how you were feeling…We could have figured this out together," she said. Emily frowned.

"I…can't quite explain, why talking about it, wouldn't have helped." Elena cuts her off at that.

"You think I don't understand what it's like to feel powerless?" she asks in rejection.

"Elen-"

"That's what I feel, **all** the time, Emily. But I didn't…" Elena doesn't even know how to put it in words. Damon eyes her irritably, and Stefan is uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Despite feeling a throbbing headache and the inability to go through with a heavy discussion at the moment, Emily composes her thoughts, and speaks calmly. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but this is exactly why I did this, so you don't feel the way you feel."

"And how do you think I feel now?!" Elena exclaims, shutting the Gilbert up. Emily inhales from tension, and Damon notices.

"Okay, looking past the whys and crap, lets discuss how you can be useful to your dear sister, who turned vampire to keep your ungrateful butt safe and sound," he said. Emily and Stefan both turn to Damon in scolding as Elena's face grows red with a misplaced sense of guilt. He ignores them, eyes fixed on the younger Gilbert as though in mock, but she refuses to take this from him again.

"I didn't ask her to!"

"Elena," Emily interrupts. "This is in **no** way your fault. This was **my** choice," she strictly clarifies.

"Yes. So. As we discussed, as soon as your witch friend comes back into town, you need to make sure the first thing she does, is make that daylight ring," Damon re-states. Elena reluctantly process his words. Still upset with the situation, she falls back into the couch.

"Yeah…Okay…" she uttered tiredly.

A moment of silence passes, no one sure what else to say to detangle the tension. Emily then notices that Elena was in her pjs, with a rain coat atop, and recalls how late the time must be. "Look. You should head home," she says, rising to her feet. "It's late. I'll call you in morning, okay?" she puts a hand out to her sibling. Elena reluctantly takes it and gets up, hesitant about leaving. They make it to the front door, and the brothers stand and observe from the parlor side to side.

Emily pauses at the door and faces Elena again, determined to ease her concerns before she left, if only to assist her with sleep that often fled with the presence of trouble.

Elena's gaze was set off in thought. Emily places her palms on her face, grasping her attention. "Everything's gonna be fine," she told confidently, ironically believing it herself in that moment. Elena furrows her thin brows at her.

"How can you say that?" she tilts her head.

"Elena," Emily rests her hands on her shoulder. "Have I ever let you down?" she asked, smiling lightly. Elena's features somewhat relax. She slowly shakes her head, setting her gaze low as though in shame. "Come here," Emily habitually pulls her into a hug, something they both needed.

But then Emily starts to hear the blood, smell it,

**again**.

She started to panic.

The boys seem aware that an embrace was currently unwise, for Stefan warily attempts to approach them, when Damon puts an arm out to stop him just as Emily pulls back and hides her anxiousness with a smile. Then she breaks eye-contact with Elena, and pulls the door open.

Elena heads out, and waves goodbye at her older sibling. Emily retorts it as Elena makes way to Jenna's car that she'd discreetly borrowed.

When she thought she could no longer see her, Emily's expression fell to dismay, and she leaned back in and shut the door. Her hand still placed against its hard, wooden surface, Emily breathed out in an attempt to calm her fears and racing heart. Her mind continued to ask what in the world she'd done, as well as contradict itself with the fact that it knew this would happen, and that she would have to fight it.

Noting her posture, Damon approaches her, a troubled look on his face as he observed her struggle. "You okay?" he softly asked. She turned to face him, a deep frown set on her face before she brushed it off with the shake of her head and said:

"Yeah…Just…Think I need some rest." Damon nods, knowing better than to push her to talk, honestly not wanting to hear any regrets himself,

because it was too late.

"Come on. I'll show you to fancy guest room," he smirks in an attempt to lighten her mood. She doesn't acknowledge the humor as he guides her up the stairs again.

XXX

On the second floor, Damon showed her to her room, and pointed out that it was right next to his.

Upon entry of the room, there is a short hallway with a tall drawer cabinet to the right, wood-made as most of the furniture was in the house. The walls were a Victorian wooden paneling, as well as the floors and ceiling. Further inside, to the right, was a fireplace, and in the front was a large, king-sized bed with end-tables and table-lamps atop them. There were two wide windows on either sides of the bed with closed, heavy, decorative red curtains. To the left window, was a green arm-chair, a small table to its right, and a floor-lamp to its left. Against the left wall was a dressing table and another floor-lamp to its left, near the door to the bathroom. Amidst the room itself was a large, circular carpet, and opposite it and the bed was a wide antique wardrobe.

Despite the beauty the room withheld, it had a cold feel to it, and did nothing to ease Emily's tension when the idea of **not** sleeping in her own bed set in. Still, the idea of sleep in general felt somewhat welcoming, as she had barely gained much rest the past few days. "The bed sheets are clean, so don't worry about that," Damon states as she took a look around. "You might wanna keep the curtains closed till we get that ring. The fireplace is stoked, and you've got hot-water running in the bathroom." Emily faced him then.

"Thank you, Damon. Seriously…For everything," she said, approaching him with a hint of sorrow in her floor-set eyes. Damon doesn't acknowledge her gratitude, as he is too focused on her almost fearful expression.

"Hey," he softly called, tilting her chin up to meet her reluctant eyes. "We both knew they weren't gonna make it easy," he smirked. She smiled lightly.

"Yeah. I know. I just…When I'm near her, I…" she takes a shaky breath, looking away. Damon moves his head to catch her gaze, them only a foot apart.

"First time. Gotta happen. We'll deal with it, okay?" he said, tone firmly assuring. She looked up at him, somewhat reassured. She nodded ethically.

"Yeah," she uttered.

"Good. Now get some sleep. You come find me or Stefan if you need anything," he said, walking back towards the door.

Emily gets the sudden urge to stop him for a hug of all things, and opens her mouth to call his name, but refrains, thinking what she wanted to be stupid and ridiculous. He walked out and shut the door behind him. She sighed tiredly, and turned, approaching her bag and backpack at the foot of the bed.

XXX

Exiting, Damon notices Stefan stood in the hallway, staring back at him. He ignores him and enters his room, knowing he would follow. Stefan steps in after him. "Damon, she needs to feed," he says.

"She already has," Damon replies, picking up the chair he had at the side of his bed with one hand and moving to put it back in place.

"You fed her human blood?!" Stefan lowly exclaims. Damon doesn't reply, knowing what was coming. "Damon, we agreed that-"

"We didn't agree on anything. You wanna keep her on animal diet so she doesn't hurt anyone, and by anyone," Damon faces him, "you meant Elena, but you didn't say that, so as not to freak her out, but she **should** be freaked out, because her **sister** wants to make a meal of her, and secretly, so does her boyfriend." Stefan glares angrily at Damon's words. "But just like you have a way to resist that, so do I, and I'm gonna teach Emily **my** way, because your way sucks and makes you **weak**, which I won't say again. If you don't wanna hear it from me, ask her yourself, but careful…she's stubborn as stone," Damon last gives, before walking past Stefan, to his bed.

XXXXX


	36. Chapter 36

"Where is she?" Stefan asks, having just returned from school. Him and Elena had agreed to attend late, considering she hadn't gotten any sleep, but greatly needed to see Bonnie.

"Asleep," Damon replies from near the stove, apparently making pancakes. Stefan furrows his brows.

"What are you doing?" he asked, truly confused. Damon cocks a brow.

"What does it look like?" he retorts in mock.

"Are those for her?"

"Yep," Damon reluctantly replies, certain Stefan wouldn't let that slide without a comment or something, so he makes it seem more a part of the process. "I wanna show her what food tastes like before and **after** blood, plus she likes potatoes and she could use some cheering up," he says, and Stefan notes the potato wedges baked and set aside on a plate. Stefan studies Damon for a long moment, something that irritates the latter as he worked on the last of pancakes.

Stefan hadn't seen Damon care about anyone other than himself in a ridiculously long time. Sure, he often showed brother-like attitude towards him, but to show this kind of consideration for someone else.

…A girl…Someone who wasn't Katherine…

Someone who seemed to care a great deal for him.

Stefan smiles in a sudden sense of content, and optimism.

Damon glances to see it. "Yeah, you can wipe that grin off. I don't wanna hear it," he says, not wanting the former to ruin his good mood. Stefan's smile grows as he approached the coffee machine and started it.

"I was gonna say you playing teacher is...really amusing." Damon smirks, and twists his words.

"Well. I'm a **fun** teacher. You'd know if you ever let me help you change your ridiculous diet," he says. Stefan's smile dissipates.

"Shut up," he said, getting a mug from the near the sink.

XXX

Emily awakens to use the bathroom around two or three pm, and upon rising from the bed, that felt all too foreign as she realized she wasn't in her room, she felt dizzy, in a way, and found she was immediately glaring at the window, despite the curtains drawn shut.

She ignores it, and walks into the bathroom, her hunger growing with every step she took.

That hunger then guides her down the stairs and towards the sound of clatter in the kitchen. She picked up on the scent of pancakes, potatoes, spices, and coffee.

Upon stepping in, the brothers face her, Damon from placing the last pancake in a stack at the center counter, and Stefan on a stool, drinking coffee. They each smile. "Morning," Damon greets. She smiles back, evidently amused by the scene opposite her.

"Morning," she called back, sliding on a stool facing Damon from the other side of the counter. "Smells good."

"Mhm," Damon smirks, filling up a plate for her.

"Damon," Stefan calls in warning.

"Sh. Shh," Damon retorts, facing the Gilbert once more, who is then eyeing them suspiciously. "Go ahead. Try it," he says, smiling casually. Stefan looks to his mug as Emily attempts to process what the issue was. She gazes at Damon, who was waiting expectantly. She picked up a fork, and as expected, poked at the potatoes first, causing Damon's smile to momentarily widen. She brings it to her mouth, non-the-wiser.

Gradually, the taste sets in, like…dust? What was that?! A frown sits on her face, and Damon is still smiling. "It's…" she is unsure how to explain it, but feels the urge to puke. Damon gives in and chuckles, as Stefan sighs.

"It's disgusting. Spit it out," he tells, handing her a napkin. She snatches it and does so quickly, folding the bite into the cloth, and glaring at Damon, who evidently knew this would happen. "See, now that's what happens when you're short on blood," he explains, still smirking. She continues to glare at him, despite taking in his statement, till he brings out a glass from beneath the counter, filled with what was unmistakably blood…

Seeing this, Stefan grows tense, the scent hitting all three at once. Damon slides the glass towards her. Stefan forces his concentration on his coffee, refusing to be affected in spite of his accelerated heartrate. Emily eyes the glass intently, reaches out and takes it. Damon likes the fact that apparently, she'll keep turning to him as though in permission before she drank it. He gives her a firm nod, and she immediately brought the glass to her lips, finishing it off in one gulp. It was like the most refreshing, most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.

She places down the glass, eyes fixed still upon it, disappointed that it had emptied this quickly. Damon knows the struggle, and Stefan finally looks up. Damon changes the subject as he took the glass and put it beneath the counter and out of her sight. "**Now **try the pancakes," he says. Taking a minute to process that the blood was gone, she squints her eyes at him in doubt, causing him to grin. "Come on. You'll see the difference."

Sighing, she tries the potatoes again.

Her eyes widen at the strong distinction. They tasted like regular potatoes again; they tasted good. "See?" Damon smirks.

"Oh my god," she uttered, digging into the contents of the plate. Damon fills up another plate, and hands it to Stefan, who then declines.

"No. No. I just ate," he says. Damon shrugs.

"Your loss," he says, taking the plate for himself and heading to sit on the stool to Emily's side.

After a moment of silence, Emily glances at Stefan, who was finishing off his coffee mug. "Were you at the school today?" she asked, making conversation. Stefan looks up at her from his daze.

"Uh, yeah. So was Elena," he says.

"Really? It was so late last night," she utters, then notes her mistake upon mentioning the night before, trigging memories of all that had happened, none pleasant.

"Well, she wanted to meet Bonnie face to face. Explain what had happened, and, ask her for the ring," he explains with a forced smile. Emily takes this in, and nods, frowning at the thought of how her sister was feeling as she re-faced her plate.

Damon chuckles from beside her. She looks at him. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Well, I was just imagining: 'Bonnie, hi. My sister turned, and can't walk in the sun. Please make a magic daylight ring for her,'" he says in a girly voice, and then faces Emily, who did not seem amused. "And then, Bonnie just. **Stares** at her," he blank faces to mimic the Bennett's shocked expression, before laughing out. His amusement was infectious, and caused Emily to laugh as well as she said:

"That isn't funny." She then looked at Stefan. "It isn't funny," she repeated, laughing again, even harder this time. Stefan smirks gloomily.

"It's your emotions. They're heightened, and kinda out of balance," he explains. She continues to laugh, and Damon pats her back, giggling still. Stefan sees them as a group of silly kids. He slides off the stool, shaking his head as he put the mug in the sink and made his way to his room, neither apparently noticing his departure.

"So, what are you gonna do till the sun goes down?" Damon asks her after a minute while they ate.

"Think I'll do some studying. Maybe check up on Elena."

"Seriously? Studying? That is **so** boring," Damon retorts. She faces him.

"Well, I still have responsibilities, Damon. Just cause I'm a," she hesitates, furrowing her brows, "…vampire…" the word feels weird on her tongue when referring to herself. Damon smirks at her reaction, then she resumes: "doesn't mean I oughta be a drop-out too!"

"Alright, miss grade-A student. Suit yourself. Library's that way," he points back with his thumb.

"A library?"

"Yeah, the only thing this house is missing is an outdoor pool." Emily cocks a brow at that.

"An outdoor pool, huh?" then she smirks. "So you could have your 'friends' over for a party." Picking up the sarcasm in her tone, Damon turns to her.

"Oh? Well maybe we could invite **your** friends over," then he pauses. "Oh. Wait." She raises her brows at him, smirking. "Yeah. Two can play at this game…" he says. Emily chuckles in amusement, shaking her head. Damon then gets an interesting thought he just had to tease her with. "Course. You know. We can ditch everyone, and go skinny dipping." Emily whirls her face to his, her smile faltering as very vivid images set into her mind, before she looked away and smirked it off, scoffing.

"…Wow," she mused in sarcasm, rising with her empty plate in hand to the sink. Damon smirks at her reaction, then noted her attempt to wash the dishes.

"Just leave it," he told, getting up after her.

"No. I'm standing. Might as well do it," she shrugs.

"Here. Gimme," he bumps her aside with his shoulder, and she faces him in surprise. "Go do what you were gonna do," he tells, scrubbing at the plate and washing it.

"Uh, Damon. You're letting me stay here," she puts a hand on her hip, speaking seriously. "You gotta let me help around."

"Miss Gilbert, you are too polite," he says sarcastically. "But. I got this." Emily studied his persistence for a moment, the scene reminding her of the time he was at her house, cooking dinner.

Look at him, mocking her politeness while he himself was evidently too polite to let her do the dishes herself, or letting her stay with him, changing her bed sheets before she showed up, paying for that motel room himself.

A smile grows on her lips and she eyes the person he often hid under a mask of bitterness admirably. "…You're really cute. You know that, right?" she comments, ignoring the fact that the statement was a little bold and inappropriate. Damon faces her, furrowing his brows.

"**Cute**?! What am I, a puppy?!" he says, semi-offended. She just grinned at him, chuckling in amusement. He rolled his eyes and sprayed her with the water and soap covering his hands. "Go on. Outta here," he shooed. She resided in avoidance of getting wet, rushing up the stairs with a wide grin on her face.

Damon smiled to himself.

At least he managed to lift up her mood, like he was hoping to.

XXX

_"It's…really weird without you here," _said Elena over the phone. Emily had remembered to ring her up as she opened her laptop. _"…Jenna and Jeremy are really weird about it too."_ Emily winces at that. She'd forgotten to explain it the night before.

"Yeah, uh-" Elena cuts her off.

_"I mean, I know Damon compelled them to be okay with it," _she says,_ "but it just…"_ she is uncertain how to explain, sighing. Emily frowns at her sister's tired and confused tone.

"Yeah…I know…I'm sorry things seem so off, but I promise, it's only a matter of time before they go back to normal," she replied, brushing off the uncertainty in her mind.

_"Yeah…okay…"_ Elena retorted, evidently sounding just as doubtful. there was nothing more Emily could say to reassure her, so instead, she tried a change of subject.

"How was school? How's Bonnie?" she asked with a smile to her tone.

_"Bonnie's okay…She's still really upset…about what happened with her grams..." _Emily frowned again.

"God, of course she is…It's only been a few days."

_ "Yeah…Listen. I told her…about what happened…She, uh, she said she'd do it, and to give her till tomorrow."_

Elena refrains from reciting the conversation she had with Bonnie, for good reason. After a little pushing to explain why she was being so cold and distant towards her, Bonnie confessed that she was avoiding Stefan, and Damon, whom she blamed for what happened to her grams. The fact that the spell didn't work, and the tomb vampires were out, meant her grandmother died in vain, something that broke the Bennett's heart.

Reluctant but desperate, Elena was forced to confess that Emily had turned, both to get that ring, and in great need of telling her best friend. Bonnie seemed to somewhat calm down upon seeing how scared and conflicted Elena was about what had happened. The Bennett secretly started blaming Emily for her friend's current state, and couldn't see how she was doing this **for** her. Regardless, she agreed to help.

XXX

Studying had never been harder. Well, it has, but the new issue was incredibly disturbing.

The sun.

Despite having the curtains closed, it was like she could **feel** it. It wasn't hot or anything, but she could literally feel it's heat somehow weighing on her, making her body feel heavier than it was, making her head pound, and her chest to heave as though for air, annoyed further by the fact that she couldn't exactly open a window and stick her head out.

What work she could've completed in an hour, took up about four, counting the amount of times she got up to splay water from the sink on her face, or when she'd just stroll her room, trying to freshen herself up. Even music didn't help, which sucked for her, because she absolutely loved to dance.

When the sun resided, she somewhat calmed down, but a new issue arose.

She was hungry. Again.

Luckily for her, Damon seemed to be keeping count, as he soon entered her room and approached her with another glass of blood, then advised her to dress in something sporty, as they were going out. He was vague about where, or why they were heading out, not giving much of a chance to ask as he left the room. Regardless, she complied.

XXXXX


	37. Chapter 37

"Seriously? What are we doing here, Damon?!" Emily demanded upon entering the clearing near the river. Damon smirked, correctly assuming her guess.

"Don't worry. We're not here to make out again," he said, turning to her. She crossed her arms and eyed him irritably, shooing away the memories of that…strange day.

"Now, you turned, because you needed to be stronger," her expression hardness as his words grasp her undivided attention. "Well, we did that, and you have no idea what you're capable of now. We're here to see," he gestures his arms widely, as though introducing. "So," without warning,

he takes her by the throat, and shoves her into the tree nearest.

She eyes him in shock, her back aching sharply all over. "What the hell?!" she hissed, grasping firmly his arm in a 'pull away' motion.

"Go on. Throw me off," he wiggled his brows tauntingly.

Understanding his point, Emily kicked him in the knee, causing him to lose balance. She grabbed his arm and put it in wrist-lock. Damon smirked and used his strength to push her back onto the ground. He avoided heavy attacks, such as elbowing her in the face, and instead quickly straddled her. He brought a fist to her face that he wasn't intending to make contact, but regardless, she grasped it an inch from her face. She breathed out in shock, uncertain how she even saw it coming so fast. "Nice. Your reflexes are heightened," he says. She moves his fist away from her face to meet his.

"Right. Well. My next move would be slamming my hand into your throat," she states. He blank faces, then smirks. He gets up and gives her a hand. She takes it and rises, only to have him bring up another fist to her jaw.

That too, she grabbed.

Damon brought up his other, and she managed to duck. They went back and forth like this for several minutes, most shots evaded, some hits landing.

What Emily felt, was indescribable.

She was faster, stronger. She was physically able to overcome Damon. She was so aware of her body, it's weight, it's movements, it's weaknesses, it's strength. To a point, she found her senses practically aware of his too.

Adrenaline dashed through her veins in anticipation, and at the fact that

she was able.

She was finally…equal to his kind.

…Her kind...

XXX

Breathless, and lying down on the grass with the night's sky above them, Emily laughed out, and sat up. "Oh my god. It's…It's amazing! It was…Wow," she uttered. Damon sat up next to her, grinning.

"I gotta give it to you, Gilbert. You can kick some serious butt," he said. She smiled at him, then got to her feet. Her whole back was covered in dust, grass strands, and some stray tree-leaves. Damon assumed his was the same, but didn't care, and was certain she didn't either. He got up after her.

She approached the river, and stopped.

"I can **feel** everything. I can feel the wind, the air. I can hear the river, the trees, what creatures moving around. I can **smell** the grass, water…It's…" she shook her head, at a loss for words. Damon smiled at her content state, then faced the horizon.

He reminisced about his junior vampire years, how everything felt…overwhelming…Good memories of the time were very seldom with him…He was alone. He had to learn on his own. He'd lost the strong bond between him and Stefan, and he'd lost Katherine…He didn't have time then to admire what it was like to be one with nature.

Their hands accidently brushing against one another snaps him out of it. He faces her, and finds her looking down at them, despite having pulled away. He understood her heightened senses made even the smallest of skin-contact relevant.

He doesn't know why, but he reached and took her hand in his. She faced him in shock as he stood before her, and brought it up, caressing her knuckles with his thumb.

The thought of her made him revise his list of things to teach her, and was slammed with one bitter reminder.

Despite being almost fully consumed with his motions against her sensitive skin, she noted his frown, and worriedly asked: "What's wrong?"

As if snapped out of it, he looked to her, and smiled in dismiss. "Nothing," he released her hand and plucked a tree leaf from her hair and flicked it away, then placed his hand on her shoulder, guiding her to move. "Let's go get some drinks. Celebrate."

XXX

"Damon. Come on," Emily urged, brushing her shoulder against his. "Tell me what's wrong," she softly plead as they stood atop the Mystic Grill roof with beer bottles in hand. He faced her again, discovering he'd apparently looked displeased.

What was wrong?

He looked away again.

He hadn't taught her how to feed yet, and couldn't stop picturing her…freaking out, voicing her regret, and worst: crying. He kept thinking of a way to avoid this, but she was a fresh vampire, who was unable to join the human society without getting the urge to drink each and every one of them dry of blood. He had to teach her to resist that urge, and the only way to do that, was the practical way.

There was no point keeping it from her; it would only make her upset if he kept quiet, and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

He tried not to make it a big deal. "So, tomorrow, we're going to take you out…for a bite," he said, smirking at her as though humorously.

After acknowledging what he meant by 'bite,' Emily's face went blank.

"Oh," she uttered, facing her bottle and visually growing tense.

"Yeah. 'Oh'," Damon stated in sarcasm after gaining the reaction he'd expected. "Now, it won't be easy," he stated, leaning against the railing with his back. "That's something you should keep in mind before expecting…that it **will** be," he says weirdly, uncertain how to explain. "What I mean is," he scoots closer to her, resting his elbow on the stone roof fencing. She faces him as she shoved aside her grim thoughts. "You **will** lose control, but that's **okay**, because it's the first **time**. And I'll be there, to make sure, you don't, uhhh," he chuckles, then re-thinks his 'rip out anyone's throat,' joke, instead saying: "you know," awkwardly.

Doubtful, and barely reassured by what he'd said, Emily's gaze declined as she nodded and quietly said: "Yeah. Okay."

Damon pursed his lips tensely. He shouldn't have said anything.

But it was the truth regardless, something he was hoping to avoid mentioning till when they were faced with the situation. The look on her face at least assured him that postponing it till the next day was the smarter choice.

He finishes off his bottle, with his mind at work, and faces her again. "Look, just remember that…You got what you wanted. You can fight back now. You can protect your family, just like you wanted. Anything else is an obstacle we can easily deal with," he tells confidently.

She took in his statement, soon nodding as well. "You're right," she said, smiling lightly.

He was right.

She got what she wanted, and their sparring was still a vivid memory to return to.

Her strength.

Was the price to pay for it,

worth it?

Or was it too expensive?

XXX

Soon after, they arrived home; what she was apparently inclined to call it for the unseen future. As she was a closed person, the idea of getting used to a new environment, especially with the notion that it was 'temporary,' evidently made her greatly uncomfortable, and homesick soon after.

It wasn't that the place was lacking any necessities. Far from it; it provided more than her original house did, except the fact that it wasn't 'home.' It wasn't **hers**.

The problem made itself most known, at night.

Yes, the night before she had no trouble sleeping. She'd **died** and come back to life through a particularly exhausting process.

Now, however. Let's just say sleep wasn't as immediate as she hoped it was. Come to think of it, it wasn't even an hour away.

No. It had been nearly two hours of lying on the bed, turning and kicking till the idea that it just wouldn't happen started setting in.

Her heightened emotions put her in a sudden state of panic, and the events of all previous, greatly stressful days were threating to flood her.

Her mind threw out a random solution, after suggesting many ineffective, sleep-inducing thoughts, amongst which was the next day,

and what Damon had said.

It was the mention of Damon that the new and random solution revolved around.

…It didn't sound wise.

But the more she thought of forcing sleep, the more those memories rushed in, relishing in the quiet, the loneliness, the darkness of the night, as well as her already uncomfortable mood.

As she mulled it over - the solution - with great reluctance, and a sane part of her attempting to express how child-like and ridiculous she was being,

she was already at his door.

Her fist came up to knock,

but she pulled it back,

and just stood there,

trying to convince herself to leave, as well as to knock!

The door swung open. She froze.

Damon stood opposite her with an expectant brow raised. She was quiet for a moment, before realizing she had to speak. She smiled nervously. "I'm sorry. I'll just go," she said, turning away.

"Wait," Damon called, just then deducing why she'd come to his room two am at night.

It was either one thing…or the other…

He stepped back in and gestured at her to follow. He gave her his back as he resided to his bed. "Let me guess. Can't sleep," he says.

"Not exactly," she sighed, following after him in uncertainty, but some assurance.

"No, you've gotta be **clear**," Damon grinned as he rounded the bed to its further side and faced her. "Cause it's either you can't sleep, or you want sex," he states.

She gawked at him.

"Wh-No! Damon! What the hell is wrong with you?!" she asked, blood rushing to her cheeks. Damon chuckled in amusement. "Oh, forget it," she flapped her hand at him and turned to leave, not needing to be lured into a trap she'd probably willingly fall into.

"No, wait! I was," he laughed again, one knee on the bed as he got back on it. "Come on," he patted the spot next to him, eyeing her intently. She stared at him irritably for a moment, before exhaling tiredly and re-approaching him.

Recalling something, Damon quickly straightened. He approached his windows and firmly shut each curtain. "Don't wanna wake up to a deep fried Gilbert," he smirked. She winced at the very real possibility in both disgust and concern.

The room grew fairly dark except for small light left on in his wide open bathroom. She got under the blanket and lied down on her back. He walked back towards the bed, and mimicked her posture.

Wordlessly, they both attempted to sleep again.

About twenty minutes passed when Emily, on her side facing the door, realized it didn't feel any easier with someone near to keep her distracted, like how she was with her sister.

But Damon wasn't her sister. A) he was a seriously attractive guy. B) she practically forced herself into his bed, and couldn't stop thinking about whether or not she was making him uncomfortable. C) the two new issues were practically waving at her anxiety to come over.

Then…she felt a hand slither around her waist, and a warm body embrace her from the back.

At first, her heart madly raced, but then this strange, reassuring warmth seeped into her chest, and calmed it. Her mind was engulfed with an even stranger sense of…safety…She inhaled deeply, her heartrate decreasing, something Damon, who was still awake and had moved intentionally, listened to contently. He could hear and feel her struggle the whole time, till he decided to do something about it.

And don't ask him why.

Of all questions, just don't ask him why.

He won't answer you, cause he doesn't know.

XXXXX


	38. Chapter 38

"She's not here," stated Elena, exiting the bathroom in Emily's room. Stefan's brows furrowed.

"Uh, hang on," he tells, upon catching what sounded like a phone alarm ringing. He exits the room completely,

and heads to Damon's, either assuming he knew where she was, or that she was there already. Elena follows after him, wondering where Emily could be.

She is unaware the adjacent room is Damon's, so the sight she is presented with when Stefan switched the lights on was not one she was expecting, neither was Stefan.

Damon was leaning over Emily to shut off her annoying phone alarm. He obviously saw them, and was taken off guard at first, before he was amused with the looks on their faces. "Well, hello," he greeted slyly. Emily shifted from being curled up against Damon's chest at the noise, and saw he was looking at the doorway, before down at her. Suspicious, she rolled onto her back, her tired eyes squinted at the two figures several feet away.

When her vision adjusted, and she noted who they were, she shot up, her head hitting Damon in the face. "Ow!" he exclaimed, despite it not hurting that bad. She whirled her head to him in shock, and quickly placed a hand on his cheek.

"Sorry!" she apologized profusely. The look in her eyes distracted him more than the pain, till she turned away and faced her sibling, and his, again.

She scurried out of bed and approached them. "Elena! What are you doing?" she asked, a nervous smile on her lips as she brushed a hand through her tangled hair and glanced between the two. Stefan looked to be hiding a smirk as his face was declined to the floor. Damon grinned at the thought of what the duo was thinking had happened as Elena continued to go: "Uh, uh," till she spoke. "Bonnie…gave me the daylight, thing." Between her index finger and thumb, Elena held up the ankle bracelet Emily had remembered to remove before leaving with Damon to…turn. "She said it would go with anything, so she exchanged the vervain in your bracelet with, uh, the gem," Elena explains uncertainly as Damon approached the group.

"An ankle bracelet?!" he asked in shock. Emily took it from her, and kneeled down to wear it. "You kept your vervain in an ankle bracelet?!" he repeated. Stefan was also slightly surprised.

"Yeah, I thought it was smart," she stated, getting up again. Damon considers it, and nods as she jogged back in haste to the closed-curtain window.

"Kinda hot too," he commented, facing her back as she walked.

She pulled open the heavy curtains, bright sunlight beaming into the room, and causing her eyes to squint shut,

but she didn't care.

She smiled widely.

Yes, she wasn't allowed in the sun for just the previous day, so she couldn't exactly tell why it felt so rejuvenating. Perhaps it was the ability to stand in it without the background fear of getting burned, a good notion she needed amongst the many more concerns.

Suddenly, she was out of their sight, followed by a sweeping rush of air from the room, out the door.

They looked to the hallway to find it empty, and started after her to where they assumed she had gone.

The front door was left open, and she was just a few feet out, soaking in the sun, the warm air, the cool rush of wind, listening to birds sing in a blissful feeling.

She laughed out, and faced them, who were at the door's threshold, all but Elena, slowly, curiously approaching her.

Emily zoomed towards and engulfed her in a tight hug. Elena was taken aback, but not un-pleased. Emily's heightened excitement and strength had her literally lifting Elena off the ground and spinning her in circle, causing the younger Gilbert to laugh as well. Damon and Stefan were fairly content with a joyful sight for a change.

XXX

"So. You slept with her," Stefan comments as he prepared coffee for all in the kitchen.

"Hehe, no," Damon replies with a smirk as he approached the counter with a change of clothing and snatched one of the coffee mugs.

"Really?" Stefan asked, audibly not convinced.

"You know, it wouldn't be your business if we did. And do me a favor. Stay out of it," Damon sternly tells.

"Out of it?" Stefan slyly asks.

"Anything Emily-related. Just stay out of it."

"Okay. But I just need to clarify that, giving her the wrong ideas, getting her upset, causing her to lose her **trust** in you," Stefan tells, approaching Damon and speaking seriously as the latter rolled his eyes. "She loses control. She kills people, and I can't stay out of that," he tells. Damon eyes him menacingly, annoyed with the fact that he wanted to negate all of Stefan's negative outcome assumptions, whilst refusing to flat-out admit that he wouldn't in any way hurt her.

XXX

"So. You slept with him," Elena stated, stood beside Emily in her bathroom as the latter brushed her teeth at the sink.

"Uh, uhh!" Emily exclaimed in a muffled voice.

"Then what were you doing in his room? Asleep?!" Emily spit out toothpaste and washed her mouth, before taking note to leave the sink on as she spoke.

"I was…" she started, shaking her head as she approached the towel by the door. She wiped her face, and heard Elena turn off the water. "No, keep it on," she told, rushing to do so.

"Why?" Elena asked in confusion.

"So they can't hear us!" Emily stated. Elena was surprised by the strange fact. "Look, I…was having trouble sleeping, and he…"

"Had sex with you," Elena finished for her. Emily eyes her in bewilderment.

"We did **not** have **sex**!"

"What, so he just, offered to comfort you to sleep?! Emily. He's expecting sex as compensation," Elena knowingly tells.

"He's not like that," Emily firmly insists.

"Are you kidding me?!" Elena mocks in disbelief.

"Not with me," Emily cuts her off. Elena calms down, and eyes her sympathetically, upset with what she thought was her sister being played. "Look. **Twice** before, we shared a bed, and he didn't make a move. It's not abo-" Emily heartedly tried to explain, as though needing to confirm it even for herself, when Elena cut her off in shock:

"**Twice**?" Emily sighed tiredly, reluctant to go into details, but somewhat reassured that the rushing water from the tab kept them 'safe' from future embarrassment or awkward conversations with the Salvatores in the kitchen.

"The night he…found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb, and…a couple days after that," she says. Elena stares at her for a long moment.

"You just…Slept together?"

"Yeah."

"…Wow. You. Guys are…really weird," she furrows her brows. "So. What? What does this mean, exactly?"

"I don't know, and honestly, I don't wanna ask. I think it'll…freak him out, and I don't wanna lose…whatever it is we…have," Emily confessed with an uncertain tone.

Whatever it was they had.

Damon was…He wasn't, some regular encounter, some regular guy. Putting aside that he was a vampire, he had the ability to affect Emily intensely. Everything that had occurred between them, every memory she had of him, was so strong, every time he made her laugh, every time he made her mad. Every talk. Every kiss.

Did she want more? Probably since the day she'd met him. "But," she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I also know he's…not ready to get into anything serious…" She wouldn't risk losing what they already had, regardless of appropriateness, to try and see where things were going. "It's too soon, so just. Please don't bring this up in front of him. Or talk about, any of this." Elena processed her request. She looked displeased with the way her sister was handling her… 'love life,' or whatever category this fit into. Even so, she nodded in compliance.

XXX

The girls rejoin the boys downstairs, entering the kitchen. Seeing so occur, Damon walks out. Away. Wherever else he wasn't involved in a conversation where both Stefan, and the annoying, dramatic version of Katherine were.

Sitting at the dining table and discussing school with Stefan for a moment. As such, Emily half-heartedly listens, glancing every now and then at Damon, who was in the living room with a glass in hand, stood opposite the window, just standing. _'God, he's gorgeous,'_ her mind uttered in synch with her aching chest.

He looks at her.

Her heart jumps, and for a moment, she can't look away. "Emily," Elena calls, snapping her out of it.

"Y-Yeah?" she replies, giving her full attention whilst hoping she hadn't been caught staring.

"I said Mr. Saltzman called me after class, and gave me a copy of Jeremy's extra credit paper. He wrote about the vampires of Mystic Falls," she warily said. Emily's brows raise, and Stefan's furrows. Hearing what was said, Damon approached them as well. "Yeah. He said Jeremy made it very clear that he didn't believe it, but…"

"But what if he does. That would be a problem," Damon states, pulling the chair next to Emily and residing in it, making her heart jump yet again. He was grateful he was too stubborn to let Stefan's earlier words affect him. He still sought the older Gilbert's company, and was also delaying the inevitable question regarding the nature of their relationship, not caring enough to give it a label.

Hearing her voice beckons his full attention. "I can. Try talking to him. I'll go to the hou-" Damon cuts her off.

"Whoa, whoa. There's no going home till I say so." Emily faces him, taking a moment to acknowledge his decline.

"But she's fine. She-" Elena starts.

"She won't be when they're by themselves and the thought of blood suddenly crosses her mind," he smirks grimly. Emily tenses up, and Stefan is always displeased with the way his brother chose to explain things.

"But, we were just alone upstairs-"

"For five **minutes**," Damon interrupts her again. Elena glares angrily at him, wondering what the hell Emily saw in him.

"Elena. He's right…" Emily tells her calmly. Elena faces her. "You'll have to do it. Talk to Jer."

"And tell him what?!"

"Just see if he knows anything, and if he doesn't, then let it go."

XXX

Stefan takes Elena home, and short while later, Damon tells Emily he was making a trip to the bank, along with a few other errands, and that he'd call her a while before returning so that she'd find time to get dressed, that they were going out again, and didn't tell her why before leaving.

But it didn't take a genius to guess. Matter of fact, he'd already told her the night before.

In the time she was alone, and unable to fully process what she'd be required to do, she decided to get explorative. She turned loud music on on her phone, and had it in her pocket to listen to as she half-walked half-danced around, relishing the 'me' time.

Exiting her room, she found there was five other bedrooms aside from hers and Damon's. None of them seemed inhabited enough for one to be Stefan's, and she found that his was apparently in the attic she soon decided to visit. Not wanting to pry, she left before getting a good look.

Somehow for the first time, she noticed the grand piano at one of the corners in the parlor, and wondered if it was just an antic, or if one of the Salvatores actually played. There was the living room they often found themselves in, with the fireplace a great distance from the front door, and most sitting furniture placed around it. There was the kitchen with the center counter, and the long dining table horizontal to the archway that led back into the living room. There was the library, which was huge, and fascinated Emily, despite not being much of a reader herself. She decided she'd spend most of her time there rather than in the room. She noticed, everywhere, fancy, antic décor pieces, mostly oil paintings portraying different dramatic scenes.

The final room is where she warily paused.

It was the cellar.

Last time she'd been there, Damon had threatened to kill someone, perhaps even her if he'd managed to catch her that horrid day before she stormed out the door and into the sun.

It felt like ages ago; it felt like she was remembering a completely different person. She didn't think she could even imagine being afraid of the Damon she now knew, the Damon who'd saved her when Fredrick nearly killed her, the Damon who stayed with her till Anna left the house, the Damon who was there in quite literally a minute when she'd called him and said there was someone in the house.

How could she fear him?

With such thoughts in mind, she regarded the basement as just another room, and went down to get a better look, forgetting completely a very vital detail that would prove a new threat to her.

The cell was first in view, black steel door shut tight. A shiver ran up her spine at the sight of it, and at looking away, she noticed the right side was used as a storage compartment, discarded furniture and the likes stacked atop one another.

Another step in made her freeze.

The smell.

That strong, intoxicating smell

of blood.

Her eyes fell on the freezer at the end of the room.

She gasped, the memory hitting her like a brick to the face.

She remembered seeing dozens of blood bags within it.

She could smell them then. Barely at the bottom of the stairs where she stood, as though only a foot from the freezer itself.

The twisting of her stomach and the urge to approach it caused her to greatly panic, and thoughtlessly zoom up the stairs, out the basement, then even further up to her room, where she shut tight the door and had her back to it as though keeping a monster out.

For about twenty minutes, she attempted to calm herself, not think about it, but it was literally all she could do!

_'It's only a few feet away. What could go wrong? Oh, it tastes so, so good. Just one bag,'_ her hypnotized mind continued to suggest.

She caved, and decided she **had** to call him back.

She thought she could handle a few hours by herself, but like this!

XXX

Exiting the store, Damon, with his car roof kept down, placed the grocery bags in the back seat, his phone just then ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and immediately answered upon seeing her name. "Yeah?"

_"Hey…Uh…How's it going?"_ she asked, tone nervous. Accompanied with her odd question, Damon's brows furrowed as he got behind the wheel.

"Fiiine. What's going on?" he asked, starting the car.

_"Nothing. Just. When are you coming home?"_ she asked. Damon smirked, admitting to himself that it sounded like something his girlfriend would say.

"Missing me already?" he retorted, getting out of parking and onto the road.

_"No…Just…"_ she grew quiet. No witty comeback? What else was she thinking of? Why did she sound so off?

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. She debated telling him, as though saying it out loud was a bad idea.

_"…There's, um…in-in the cellar."_

His eyes widen.

_'Oh, fuck,'_ his mind muttered. "Did you go in?!"

_"I did, but I…ran back out…I couldn't…The smell…" _she replied shakily. Noting her state, Damon asked:

"Where are you now?"

_"In my room."_

"Okay, stay right-No. Get dressed…I'm coming to pick you up…"

XXXXX


	39. Chapter 39

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone in there. I was just-"

"Emily. You can't **be** sorry, because it's not something you can **control**. **Yet**. Besides. I'm the idiot who didn't think to lock that door," Damon replied, driving them to the Grill.

"Well, why would you? I was the one snooping around-"

"Okay, we could go all day placing blame, or we can safely assume it's no one's fault," Damon smiles humorously.

"…That sounds good," she nodded, facing the window.

Knowing well what they were going to do since he'd told her they were heading out, Emily was greatly nervous, worried, and anxious. The only thing that seemed able to calm her, was the fact that she wasn't alone, and that Damon had promised from the start he would help her through it.

"So, how is this gonna go?" she asked after a moment of silence. He'd pulled the car roof back on before picking her up at the house for more privacy.

"You'll wait in the car. I'll go find us a…someone, and, well. You know the rest. Piece of cake," he muses. She scoffed.

"Right."

"You're a smart girl, Gilbert. You know this has to be done, so just," he chuckles before giving a pun, "suck it up." She squints her eyes at him irritably for that stupid joke, before saying:

"Can't I just feed on blood bags?!"

"Course you can. I haven't fed on anyone in **days**! That's not the problem. The problem is-Okay. For example. I can sit a room full of people, and **not** think about eating them, because I have before. I've learned that I can when I want to, and that I have the ability to do so, with enough control to keep from killing them. You, on the other hand-"

"Okay. I get it," Emily cuts off, not wanting to hear that basically Damon was saying she could end up killing someone.

"Besides. It isn't as horrible as you think it is. Feeding on people is actually pretty fun."

"Damon," she rolled her eyes.

"Feeding on you certainly was," he smirks.

Her eyes widen.

"You didn't seem to mind it either."

"Damon!" she scolds, then is unable to contain her laughter. Apparently, she found how quickly he was able to twist a serious topic into an inappropriate joke, amusing. Damon grinned in retaliation, content he could get her out of her pressurized-bottle mood for a moment

before throwing her right back into it…

XXX

Upon arriving, Damon did as he said he would, and told Emily to wait in the car. Minutes later, he returned to retrieve her. He guided her to the back of the building, to find a semi-familiar looking blonde opposite her.

Damon stopped them three feet from her, then stepped in front of Emily and spoke. "Okay. Here how's it's gonna go. You're gonna look her straight in the eyes. Tell her not to move and to stay calm. Then you're gonna feed on her, and tell her to forget what just happened. Capiche?"

She wasn't even looking at him, too consumed with the sudden reality of the situation as she stared over his shoulder at the seemingly placid, unbeknownst girl.

Damon tilted her chin to the side to face her as he called her name. "You can do this," he told assuringly.

It took her a minute, till she finally nodded.

He nodded as well, and stepped aside.

As though in dream-state, Emily slowly approached the girl, and stops opposite her.

A short but intense moment of hesitation passes.

Damon watches anxiously, keeping close.

He wanted this over with as much as she.

Acting mostly on instinct, Emily gently cupped the girl's face, and firmly locked-eye contact. "Don't be afraid," she calmly told. "I'm not gonna hurt you…You can trust me." Her words seemed to affect Damon himself, as though her kindness combined with the grim act she was to commit was somehow his fault.

He wanted to stop her.

"I can trust you…You're not going to hurt me," the girl half-consciously repeated, filling Emily to the brim with a sense of guilt,

but,

it soon dissipated,

when her ears tuned in to the girl's heartrate,

when her hunger set in…

The girl had her hair up in a ponytail, so her neck was perfectly exposed.

Emily's mouth parted.

All guilt, all hesitation, everything around her,

faded,

all but the sound of blood bumping through the girl's veins.

With a heavy heart still, Emily neared her…

She grasped lightly her shoulders, and brought her lips to where the sound was most audible; her neck.

Her fangs unsheathed, darks lines stretched beneath her reddened eyes…

She closed what distance was left, and sunk into the flesh.

Fresh, warm blood seeped from two equidistant injections, and into her mouth.

It was **indescribable**, how she felt in that moment.

A grimly astounding picture of draining life, for life.

Emily's mind went board-blank. Her heart raced like wind. Her body practically shook in excitement, relief, ecstasy.

It was maddening.

It consumed her.

How long had passed, she couldn't tell, but it felt too soon as Damon started pulling her back. With heightened senses, his hands on her arms caught her off guard. She pulled back from the girl as though in shock, as Damon guided her two feet away, turning her to face him.

Crimson blood dripped from lips, down her chin. She was breathing heavily, wild green eyes darting back and forth as though attempting to process what she had done, that it was done, and why it had stopped.

Damon felt sick to his stomach.

It was like looking in a mirror, like he'd turned her into him. He hated it.

Not dwelling on fairly dark thoughts, Damon shook himself out of it, and attempted to get her attention. There was one more step she had to take to complete the feeding process, possibly the most important step.

"Emily," he called, wiping at the blood on her chin with his thumb. "Focus. You need to compel her to forget. She has to forget this. Okay?" Acknowledging he'd spoken at all, Emily finds her mind hadn't stopped functioning as it felt it had, and she understood what he was saying. She nodded ethically. Damon nodded as well, doubtful.

With a hand to her back, he guided her back to the girl, keeping close behind her.

Emily's gaze immediately fell to the girl's bleeding neck.

Her stomach twisted horridly. She felt more guilt than ever-active hunger.

She approached the girl, who looked to be in a daze. Not moving. Not speaking.

Breathing shakily, Emily bit into her wrist, wincing lightly at the pain. Damon's brows furrowed. She brought up her wrist to the girl's mouth. "Drink. It'll help," she said. The girl complied wordlessly. Damon was rooted to his spot, watching as she healed her feed intentionally. It was such a strange action to him and most vampires, even Stefan, usually because the notion of having their feed flee, with no memory, was vital for their sense of control, to not have to continue to look at the blood till they lost it again.

Emily glanced at the wound, then quickly away, proving that the continued presence of blood before a vampire who'd just fed was very problematic indeed. Hoping the wound had closed up, Emily removed her wrist, it already starting to heal, and cupped the girl's face firmly, speaking quickly. "Forget this. Leave. Go," she beckoned. The girl immediately complied, turned, and ran off, snapping Damon out of it.

Emily exhaled sharply. Damon faced her. She was panicking, practically shaking in fear. "Good. You did good." His tone was fast and forcefully confident as he locked onto her gaze firmly for convincing. After a moment of catching her breath and calming down, Damon walked her back to the car.

XXX

Several minutes passed since they'd gotten into his car, since he'd praised her a job well done for a first time.

She was silent to that, merely nodded, as she was silent the whole ride.

There was nothing else he could say. He was just as tensely quiet, preoccupied by that horrid and sudden idea that he'd turned her into him.

Then, upon recalling her decision to heal her feed, something he never would have done, he rejected the idea, and determinedly insisted it was false. She was still the same, good-hearted girl she was before she'd turned.

She was still her.

"Can you, uh. Can you stop the car?" she spoke up suddenly. Caught off guard, it takes Damon a minute to process her request. He faced her worriedly, though her gaze was set out the window, refusing to meet his eyes. "Just. Please. Stop the car!" she suddenly exclaimed. In concerned haste, he complied, halting at the side of the road.

She quickly climbed out, and practically stumbled towards the nearest of many forest trees. She placed a firm hand to the wood to support her stand, breathing heavily as she tried to control her overwhelming sense of guilt, and keep the tears burning in her eyes at bay.

"Hey, Emily!" Damon called worriedly, climbing out and approaching her as well. She didn't want to do this in front of him, didn't want to give him the idea that she was regretting what they'd done,

cause she partially was.

She put out her other hand. "Just!" she uttered, then unintentionally cried out.

It wasn't that she'd fed off someone, that she thought she'd hurt that girl, it was that the girl was completely oblivious to what she was doing.

It was the compulsion,

the kind of control she had over someone that made her sick for ever abusing.

Damon paused, heart jumping at her confirmed state.

For a minute, he stood still, acknowledging her need for space.

But he just couldn't, as he listened to her uncontrollably sob, attempting to do so quietly with a hand over her mouth.

Acting greatly out of character, Damon hurried towards her in rejection. He refused to have her fall apart before him, and do nothing about it.

He felt obligated to act, as much as he wanted to.

He put a hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him. "No, just, hhh," she tried declining, gaze set low to hide her teary eyes. Damon wouldn't have it. He pulled her into him, embraced her tightly as though to shield her from her own pain. "I'm sorry! I just-" she couldn't explain why she was reacting this way, couldn't put it in words. She didn't have to. He understood.

"Shh, sh, sh. You're apologizing for being a good person. It's the stupidest reason to apologize **ever**," he mused lightheartedly. She laughed in spite of herself, then brought her arms around him, clenching the cloth of his shirt on his back, and holding on as though in fear of drowning. He held her closely, put his head on her shoulder, then half-consciously inclined it to the side, burying it in her neck and hair, breathing in her scent. His closeness was suddenly all-consuming, and completely stole her attention from her bitter truth. She sighed heavily in relief, almost physically feeling her worries depart, and causing her tears to dry. Warmth suddenly engulfed her, and her heart started racing, the thought of Damon invading her senses. Then he pulled away, made concerned by how lost he was in their embrace. They remained inches apart.

There was love in her eyes, he couldn't yet identify, but the way she was looking at him made him unable to turn away. He pushed her hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing the skin of her cheek. Her eyes slid shut and she sighed at his touch, causing him to place his palm flat on her skin, grazing her cheekbone with his thumb.

His eyes fell to her parted lips.

He wanted to kiss her…

There was a Stefan-like voice in the back of his head that kept him, a voice that warned him once: '-she falls for you-'

Somehow pegging himself unworthy of her admiration, he said: "Let's go home."

XXXXX


	40. Chapter 40

The next day, Emily's making use of the library, when the doorbell rings.

She rises to get it, when Damon appears in sight, and gestures at her to stay where she was, evidently skeptical.

"Ah. Little Gilbert," she hears a moment later, and steps up to find Damon smirking at Jeremy.

"Ah. Old-man Salvatore," he retorts. Damon grinned.

"Good one," he stepped aside, glancing at Emily, who approached them.

"Jeremy. Hey," she smiled, refraining from embracing him as she habitually would have done.

"Hey, sis," Jeremy's smile somewhat dissipated as he walked in. "Can I talk to you? In private," he glanced sideways at Damon. She furrowed her brows, curious about the seemingly serious topic.

"Sure," she glanced at Damon as well, who nodded assuringly at her. "Come on," she guided him up the stairs, looking back at Damon, who pointed then to his ears and mouthed her an 'I'll be listening.'

XXX

"Cool place. Finally making friends with the right people," Jeremy smirks, following her into her room.

"You're one to talk," Emily grins, approaching her bed. Jeremy follows her and flops down beside her, lied back down with a sigh.

Emily found herself growing worried with the thought of what he wanted to discuss. Just the morning before, Elena was stating she suspected he knew of the 'other' world.

Being a member of that world now, further concerned Emily when assuming his reaction.

"So, what's up?" she, sitting up, poked his shoulder, trying to get him to talk. He faced her, no signs of amusement on his expression. He is quiet for a moment.

"Did you know, about Elena?" he asked. Emily's brows furrowed for a moment, then eyes slightly widened in realization she hid by looking away.

"Know what?" she asked for confirmation.

"Come on, Em," he pushed, sitting up. "Elena told me you found out," she faces him, "that she's adopted."

Ironically, she is somewhat relieved this was the extent of his issue.

"Yeah. I knew," she said lowly, tone tainted with a sense of shame for keeping it from him. He shook his head.

"And why am I the last one to hear about this?" he asked, displeased.

"It was her decision to tell people, Jer. She didn't tell me. Jenna did, and she wanted me to talk to her, because Elena was blaming her for not telling her," she answered honestly. Jeremy processes this, looking away.

"…I just. Can't believe it. Literally, you know? Like. I can't actually…comprehend what it means," he confesses.

"I know. I went through the same thing," she smirks sheepishly. "But at the end of the day, she's our sister. Who…" she shakes her head, searching for a word, "**conceived** her, makes no difference, you know? It won't change the near twenty years we've spent with her."

"…Yeah. You're right. She doesn't seem too happy about it though."

"Well, of course not. You live your whole life thinking one thing, only to find out that…it was never true."

Damon, who was listening in from the kitchen, his mind seems to latch onto that statement. He then brushed it off, not wanting to dwell.

The reason he was listening in was, as Emily understood, to make sure she wouldn't…suddenly act on

hunger.

A long minute of silence passed as Jeremy considered her words, and by his side, on the bed, she started getting that horrid urge.

She quickly rose to her feet, Jeremy eyeing her strangely. "So. How've you been?" she smiled semi-casually, pacing back and forth.

She and Jeremy talk back and forth about himself, school, and Jenna, who evidently told Jer to say hi to Emily for her and that she missed her.

Emily missed her too, missed being with them, despite mere days passing. She was not used to being away from the ones she loved for over a twenty-four-hour period. In a way, she always knew that at the end of the day, she'd still be with them, but the temporary moving-in with the Salvatores dismissed that, and the fact that she was kept from going home, for being a danger to its members of all reasons, greatly displeased her.

Less than twenty minutes later, Jeremy took his leave.

Damon approached her, and asked half-sarcastically if she'd gotten the urge to eat him. "It isn't funny, Damon. This is serious. I can't sit **near** someone for a **full** five minutes before I start to…**hear** their blood flow, their heart race, and get hungry like I've been starved for **hours**!"

"Calm down, tiger. It's why we're going out again tonight." She tenses at that. "The best way to keep it under a leash, is to **know** you can control that hunger. It's more psychological when you think about it," he says. She gives him an unconvinced look, then sighs tiredly.

"You trust me, right?" he said, tone somewhat firm. She looked up at him, then nodded confidently.

She wouldn't be where she was that day if she hadn't.

Damon nodded as well, satisfied despite already knowing. "Good. Then stop worrying your brains out and, of all people to tell you this," he smirks sarcastically, referring to himself, "find some patience."

XXX

The rest of the day went by uneventfully.

Emily spent most of her time in the library, studying.

Damon was in his room, when Stefan, after arriving from school, approached him. "You taking her out again today?" he asked.

Stefan was aware what they'd done the night before, discovering mainly upon their return. He'd heard them drive off, and attempted to call Damon to ask where they went. Damon texted him and asked if there was something urgent, and Stefan said no, so Damon told him to shut up and stop calling.

Damon had taken her out previously as well, and Stefan had assumed the same, that he was taking her out to feed on some, only to have Damon confess that he was just showing her what she was capable of. This may have reassured him then, but for them to go off in the night the day after, made his worries resurface.

He was on edge the whole time till their return. He heard their entrance, waited for Emily to enter her room, as she'd done so first, then confronted Damon.

Damon confirmed he was teaching her to feed this time, explained what had happened, as he felt the urge to share her healing of her victim with a…someone familiar. Stefan also found it odd, but was, if only minuscule-y, reassured, deciding that perhaps Emily feeding off people wasn't as dangerous to her and others as he first presumed it was, and the fact that he finally acknowledged that Damon was actually there the whole time to keep her under observation.

Unbeknownst to both siblings, Damon was the reason Emily learned to heal her feed.

It was that day, in the forest, in that clearing, when she'd asked him to feed on her,

when she was still human,

then he'd fed her his blood, and healed her. He was the reason she made it a necessity to heal her victims.

XXX

Damon approached her a while later, and sits with her out of boredom. For a short time, they discuss her studies and study techniques, then they grow quiet as she resumes her work, and Damon sits opposite her desk, with a drink in hand, lost in thought.

The silence between them was not uncomfortable, but Emily suddenly found herself looking at him, observing him. _'What is he thinking?' _she curiously wondered. The sound of tapped keyboard keys ceased, causing Damon to glance at her, and, in turn, causing her to quickly avert her gaze back to the screen, the sound resuming.

He lightly smirked, and after finishing his drink, they headed out again.

XXXXX


	41. Chapter 41

After another successful feed, they returned, and at some point, Emily commented on their lack of a tv, and what they did when they were bored. "Oh, you new generation. Can't live without your technology," Damon mused from the living room. Emily grinned at him. "Back in my day, there was no tv."

"Ah. You're absolutely right, grandpa," she retorted teasingly, closing the fridge and coming out with a soda can, then residing to her room again.

XXX

_The next day, day five at the Salvatore Boarding house._

Emily roams the house, bored. Damon decides to heed her comment, and gets her to tag along on his tv shopping.

With that in a cart, they move along the isles, looking for more items to buy.

"Ice-cream?" he offers.

"Um. If you want to, sure," she retorts.

"No. I'm asking **you**."

"Oh. Then, no thanks."

"No thanks? What are you, twelve?" he mocks. She scoffs.

"What do you want me to say?!"

"I want you to see something you like, and get it," he smiles sarcastically.

"Okay, fine," she rolls her eyes.

Several other suggestions later, and Emily is still closed and fidgety about picking pretty much anything.

"Look. I get it, miss independent. You're too proud to let me pay for all this by myself. Will you just pick a cereal?!" he exclaims tiredly.

"It's not about being proud, or…"

"Then what is it?!" he glares expectantly at her. She rolls her eyes again.

"Okay. Fine. I'm sorry! I'm just not comfortable with…shopping with people who won't let me pay!"

"But I'm not **people**, Emily! I'm a **hundred** and **seventy**-year-old **vampire**," he whisper-yells. "With a **butt** load of money!" he grins.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" she asks in shock. Damon sighs tiredly,

then looks to her.

Her morals were as incredibly annoying as they were admirable.

But they weren't strangers for her to act this way around him. He didn't like it. In a way, it was insulting. Instead of saying something along **that** line, he said: "Look. Either you pick stuff yourself, or I call your sister, ask her what you like, and get it myself," he warns playfully. She stares at him in disbelief. He stares back daringly, evidently serious.

She wanted to protest, but honestly also **didn't** want to. She liked how persistent he was being. In her eyes, he was being really sweet, and she couldn't help smiling, finally giving in.

Along the isles, and shopping together, people glanced at them as often as they glanced at each other. Everyone assumed they were a couple, including a few college students who were familiar with Emily.

The duo paid them no mind, and were more than content in each other's company when the awkwardness was finally set aside.

XXX

On the way back home, Damon stopped nearby to get Emily to feed again, something she disliked, but understood was necessary. Besides. She was hungry.

"Hey, who plays the piano?" she asked curiously as Damon unboxed the huge, flat-screen tv and she stood opposite him keeping hold of the other end of the box.

"Uhhh, I do," Damon answered absently as he looked for the edge of the tape. Her eyes widened in slight surprise.

"Really?" He glanced at the smile in her tone. "You'll have to play for me sometime," she grinned. Damon smirked, not getting a chance to reply when Stefan stepped into the living room.

"What…are you guys doing?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"Lo and behold, little brother. We got ourselves a tv. Come help us hook it up."

A complicated while after doing just that, they had to also hook up a receiver. Finally done with the long process of calibrating it, Emily noted a good movie on one of the channels. Convincing Stefan to join them, they end up watching it.

XXX

_Day six._

Emily and Damon are sparring in the backyard.

At first, it was something to pass the time, as well as further explore her new capabilities, and test her limits.

But here's the thing. It was Damon.

It was Damon fighting her, pushing her, touching her. It was Damon looking up at her as she straddled him, it was his heartbeat beneath her palm.

It was driving her crazy.

She got up, and lend him her hand. Standing opposite one another, breathing heavily, Emily spoke up: "That was good," she nodded casually. Damon did not reply, too enraptured by her in the moment. Her glowing eyes, her lush, parted lips, her rising and declining chest, glistering from sweat, as she took her every breath. "I'm gonna go…take a shower," she pointed back with her thumb, then turned on her heel and walked away, refusing to indulge thoughts even he was considering. Damon watched her, watched her hips sway from side to side in those overly skinny tights, imagining himself joining in on said shower.

He couldn't understand what had suddenly come over him, but he wanted her badly, wanted to feel her against him, wanted to hear her utter his name as he pleased her in every which way.

It took several minutes to shake away such thoughts, but not completely…

XXX

A few hours later, and they head out to feed again. Damon jokingly tells Stefan to join them, which the latter of course declines.

This time, Damon had them head out without a car. He decided to teach Emily a new technique.

In the middle of the forest road, she lied, waiting anxiously for a car to drive by…

One finally did.

As she fed from her new victim, Damon decided to join in. She watched him grab the woman's wrist, eye her intently as he dug in and shared her drink.

When he pulled away, she simultaneously did too, being the first time she'd done so without him having to pry her off.

He approached her.

They stopped a foot apart. He locked intently onto her gaze.

She couldn't look away.

She glanced at his blood-tainted lips, and wanted oh-so-badly to lick them, and kiss him,

but the presence of someone else caused her to hold back, in spite of Damon's hopes.

She proceeded to heal her victim, compel her to forget, and await for her to depart as she then cleaned her mouth with her black scarf, the one she now used as a blood napkin.

"Race you back to the house," Damon called, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Emily smirked, and disappeared before his eyes. "Hey!" he called irritably.

XXX

"It was **not** cheating! You said 'let's race', so I did. And I **won**!" she exclaimed, grinning as she unlocked the front door with the spare key Damon had made her a while back.

"Have you ever actually **been** in a race before?" he retorted. They both quieted upon noticing Elena and Stefan in the living room.

After small greets, the four shortly convers. Elena refrained from asking how 'it' went, it being that Stefan had told her what they were out doing.

She didn't want to think of it, didn't want to picture it, and certainly didn't want to talk about it.

The idea that her sister was out there, **feeding** on people, felt too surreal for her to process.

Her 'thinking' is cut short at Emily's suggestion to watch a movie together.

Half-time into it, Stefan and Elena are cuddling on the couch they'd moved to the side of the room to be put opposite the tv that was next to the fireplace. To the right side, were two other arm chairs, one occupied by Emily, and the other by Damon, her chair adjacent to the couch.

Damon was suddenly feeling low.

Elena was disturbingly the spitting image of Katherine.

Seeing her with Stefan brought back memories he wished to forget, of both her, and her affiliation with his brother.

He honestly wanted to get up and leave, maybe call it a night, as much as he didn't want to be affected by the scene and to ignore it.

Emily notices his sour gaze, notices where it's directed at.

It was not the first time she'd come to realize that he did not like Elena and Stefan together, but why? She at first assumed it was related to the bitterness he held towards Stefan, but she hadn't seen that in a long time and practically forgot it ever existed since the day Stefan was kidnapped.

Ironically for the first time, she too noted the fact that…surely Elena was reminding him of Katherine.

The fact that he was still hung up on Katherine made her bitter herself for a moment, but upon recalling what Katherine had done to him, Emily semi-concluded the reason behind his sour mood.

Bad memories.

She gets the urge to pull him out of it, and without second-thoughts, reaches out and places her hand on his. He turns to her, the movie becoming background noise.

She was smiling at him warmly, causing him to inhale in a sense of relief. He looked at her hand, and turned his over, their fingers intertwining. He caressed her knuckles with his thumb, sending goosebumps all over her skin and causing her heart to jump. But when he brought it up to his lips, and kissed the back of her hand lightly in a form of gratitude and admiration, she felt she'd lose it, her eyes going wide, cheeks growing hot-red, and butterflies scattering in her stomach. She couldn't help grinning as she blushed and looked to her lap, biting her lower lip in an attempt to cool down. Damon smirked contently at her reaction, and, noting Stefan's impending gaze, looked away, but kept her hand in his.

Stefan didn't know what to make of what he saw. A part of him thought that Damon was abusing Emily's care for him to get over Katherine. The other part thought, and partially hoped, for Damon to truly have reciprocated feelings for her.

It was greatly unclear which it was to him…

XXXXX


	42. Chapter 42

_Day seven_

Damon grins at the sight opposite him.

Emily stood in the kitchen, headphones on and cooking something as she danced and silently mouthed along to the lyrics of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.

She is completely oblivious to his presence to notice him sneaking about to get to her unseen. He himself had told her that human food often assisted in keeping her inhuman bloodlust at bay.

She turns from the oven to the counter, and that's when she feels a poke in her side that felt ticklish, causing her to jump back and directly into Damon as she pulled off her speakers and looked to her side.

"Ugh. Asshole," she pulled away, shoving him lightly in the chest as he continued to chuckle. She was certainly bringing a life to the house that it was evidently greatly lacking.

Damon, after teasing her for a bit, decided to convince her to retrieve a blood bag from the basement. She was shocked and made worried by his out-of-the-blue suggestion, more order, and was fairly reluctant, considering the last time she was down there.

Damon was insistent she get over it. If she was to feed from blood bags more often, she'd have to at least be able to **look** at them!

Treading cautiously down the stairs, she anxiously approached the freezer. Upon opening it, she momentarily froze at the sight.

Like a treasure box with the most valuable of jewels.

Somewhat panicking, she snatched a bag, let the freezer door fall shut, and hastily zoomed out of the cellar.

Damon faced her from near the oven. He smirked. "See? Wasn't so bad," he said.

…She'd done it.

XXX

Getting a lot of studying done that day, and beginning to worry about her attendance record and all the assignments she'd missed, they head out again at night for her to feed, then for a drink at the Grill's roof.

It was not until late the next day that Damon finally decided she was ready.

"You're gonna go. You're gonna feed. And you're gonna come back here. Got it?"

"No, no, no," she shook her head persistently.

"Damon. She's not ready," Stefan urged from beside them in the living room. Damon shot him a heated glare.

He'd had her doing so well, Stefan knew not what she was and wasn't ready to do more than himself.

"Damon. What if I…What if I lose control?" Emily grasps his attention.

"You won't," he retorted.

"What if I **do**?!"

"You stop saying that. You need to **believe **you won't."

"Damo-"

"Stay out of it!" Damon cut Stefan off. Stefan clenched his jaw in frustration. Damon faces Emily again, ignoring her evidently reluctant expression. "You asked me to teach you. **This** is how. It's your choice whether you listen to me or not," he said, despite his tone indicating that there was only one choice. She studied his level of seriousness, tensely weighed her choices.

"Emily. You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Stefan assured. Damon turned to him again with a look that could kill. Emily did not overlook it.

More out of not wanting to further upset him, Emily sighed. "I'll do it…"

XXX

"Damon, what the hell are you do-"

"Shhh!" Damon cut Stefan off as he listened. Stefan wouldn't have quieted if he didn't see that Damon was listening to something. All Stefan could hear was Damon's car, that he'd lend to Emily to find her feed, starting, and driving off. Then, wordlessly, Damon rushed to the front door, opened it, and left, leaving behind a very bewildered Stefan.

Slowly though, he began to understand…

XXX

"Ah. She's back," Damon called, seated on the couch opposite the tv with muted sound. She walked tiredly and flopped down beside him. "How'd it go?" he asked, facing her.

…She smiled.

"Well, it sucked!...But…I did it…" she said, seeming genuinely happy. Damon smiled as well.

"I know. I was watching," he said, facing the tv again.

She blank-faced for a minute.

"You…You!" she exclaimed. "You were watching me the whole time?!" she slapped at his arm. Damon laughed in amusement. "Why?! Why did you...make me think that…"

"Because you're like me, Emily. Self-reliant. And you couldn't keep doing something as important as feeding by relying on me, or anybody, but yourself," he explained. She stared at him for a long minute,

then she smiled again.

XXX

As a form of celebration, they plan to visit her household the next day. Damon would be there, considering it was an hours-long situation, to make sure she was able to keep her cool, and to assure her should she grow nervous. Guessing correctly that visiting them would please her made Damon content.

The two, alongside apparently Stefan, make their way there that night. Emily had called Jenna earlier and informed her so that everyone would be present and that they wouldn't be caught off guard.

The day is fairly pleasant, feeling like something honestly all of them needed.

Emily hadn't realized how much she'd missed Jenna, how much she missed seeing Jer and Elena every day. She rejoiced at the chance to spend that whole day with them.

Perhaps the situation affected Stefan and Damon most.

It had been so, so long, since they felt like a true family, or were a part of one.

Having strong ties to the Gilbert family through Emily and Elena, the two brothers felt welcomed in a unique way as they dined and conversed with the household members as though a part of it.

At the end of the day, they ended up watching a movie. It hit Damon then that, despite growing uncomfortable with the gathering at first, having Emily cuddled up by his side removed that discomfort and made him able to enjoy the situation as everyone else was.

XXX

The three soon return to the mansion, despite both sisters reluctant to have Emily go, but Emily assured her she'd be back soon, and she was optimistic, considering that Damon was really moving things along.

An hour after their arrival, Emily comes down from her bedroom, and spotting the grand piano, as well as Damon near the fireplace, she got an idea. "Hey, Damon!" she called. He faced her to find her grinning excitedly. She jogged over to the piano and turned to him again. "Come on. Play me something!"

Damon lightly smirked. "You sure? You won't be able to resist me after," he slyly said, rising off the couch with a glass in hand. _'I already can't,'_ her mind mused.

"Oh, come on! I really wanna hear you play," she retorted, sliding onto the stool and patting the spot next to her. Damon raised his brows as he approached her.

"Okay. Don't say I didn't warn ya," he slid beside her. She ignored his comment, rather unwisely.

Damon placed his glass down and brought his hands to the keys. Emily watched excitedly over her shoulder, her back to the piano. Damon started playing November Rain, and slowly her smile faltered.

He played with a grace she'd never seen in him before. He played expertly, from memory, a beautiful, heart-breaking song.

As though unable to believe it was **him** playing, Emily eyed him in amazement. He was so focused on what he was doing, the tunes he was emitting playing at her heart's strings, causing it to race. He glanced at her, and she automatically smiled, a look in her eyes that made him smile back almost unconsciously.

Stefan coming down to the kitchen snatches their attention. "Hello, Stefan," Damon irritably called. Stefan smiled at them from the distance as he opened the fridge.

"I'm gonna go to bed," Emily said, lightly touching Damon's shoulder. He faced her, and as she got up. She leaned in, and kissed him gently on the cheek, causing Damon to blank-face. "Night, Stef!" she waved.

"Goodnight," he retorted. She walked away and up the stairs, with Damon staring after her, and his hands playing all the wrong tunes on the piano.

Once she was out of sight, he refocused on what he was doing, mind consumed by the thought of her. There was a heavy weight on his chest, this longing. He couldn't understand what he wanted, but knew she was somehow involved.

Stefan sat to his side next, smiling creepily. Damon cocked a brow at him. "May I help you?" he asked.

"So, when are you sending her home?" his brother slyly retorted. Damon shot him a glare, as though offended, then faced the piano keys as he continued to play.

"When she's ready," he gave nonchalantly. Stefan took a chance at trying to get Damon to talk, especially with the music masking their words.

"Do you **want** her to go?" Damon faced him irritably at that. "Oh, come on, Damon. You can't keep pretending there's nothing there."

"I've lost count of the amount of times I've told you to stay out of it."

"Fine. I'll stay out of it, but Damon," the latter rolled his eyes at the 'but.' "I **can** be the person you talk to about this. I **am** your brother," Stefan stated as a matter of fact.

"Really? I always thought I was adopted," Damon glared playfully, avoiding the main topic. Stefan smiled and shook his head, patting Damon on the shoulder before rising to his feet.

XXXXX


	43. Chapter 43

_New character best portrayed by __Taron Egerton_

"Damon?" she cautiously called, peeking her head through the door of his room the next day. She sees him glance at her from his bed. Evidently, she'd waken him up. "Oh! Sorry," she winced, pulling out again.

"Wait!" he called. She glanced back in. He waved at her to come over. She opened the door and stepped in, approaching his bed and sitting at his side. He probed himself up on an elbow and faced her soft smile. He smiled back at a sight he thought he wouldn't mind getting used to.

She realized he was shirtless, and for a moment, was distracted by fairly inappropriate thoughts before he asked: "What's up?" Snapped out of it, she answered quickly:

"I was thinking. You think it'd be okay if I went to college today?" He wasn't expecting that would be what she'd ask, but considers it regardless. "Just one lecture," she stated.

"…How long?"

"Two hours. From two to four. I'll be there and back. Just…Need to get back out there…or at least try…"

Ah, there it was. The fact that she **did** have a life.

A home. A family.

_'What did you think, genius?'_ his mind mocked.

He was slammed with the memory of how joyful she was when visiting her household just the day before. He felt guilty for wanting to keep her.

Was it wrong for him to want her all to himself?

Probably. He knew it was.

"…Okay," Damon gave reluctantly.

"Really?" she furrowed her brows at his momentarily displeased expression.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. There and back. Two hours," he smirked in dismiss. She smiled brightly, something that further upset him, how ready she was to leave.

"Awesome. Thanks, Damon!" she mused, jumping off the bed and to the door. His feigned smile fell, but came back quickly when she turned to him and waved, before heading out and shutting the door.

Damon sighed tiredly, burying his face in his pillow.

XXX

After the lecture, Emily is making her way out of campus, when a voice calls her name: "Emily!" She turns,

and freezes.

"Alec?!"

XXX

"So, what? Like. The room's haunted, or is the guy?" Damon asks Stefan as they watch Room 1408 on tv.

"No. The room is. Why would the **guy** be haunted?" Stefan retorted.

"Well, he keeps seeing his past! What kinda ghost does that, the **memory** ghost?!"

"I don't know, Damon," Stefan replies irritably, facing the screen again. Damon scoffs, and his phone rings.

"Hello," he replies, gesturing at Stefan to lower the voice. Stefan complies, and listens in curiously.

_"Hey. I'm, uh, done, but, uh…"_

"But what?" Damon worriedly asked, straightening up. "Want me to come pick you up?"

_"No. No. It's just, uh. I might be an hour late. I, uh…ran into…an old friend."_ Damon grew suspicious.

"Who?" he pushed.

_"Uhhh, Alec."_ Damon's eyes widen. Stefan is confused as to what the big deal was.

"Alec?! Ex-**boyfriend**, Alec?!" he exclaimed. Stefan's brows raised.

_"Uh, yeah. We're just gonna go grab a bite. I'll be back soon, okay?"_

"No," Damon retorted, rising to his feet. "Not okay!"

_"Why not?!"_

"Well, what if you **eat** him?!"

_"Damon! Look. Don't worry. I'll call you if I start getting __**itchy**__, like we agreed."_

"Wha-"

_"Look. I gotta go. I'll see you soon." _She hangs up.

Damon pulls the phone away and stares at it both in shock and anger.

"You okay?" Stefan warily asked.

"What is she doing?!" Damon demanded of him. Stefan was taken aback.

"Uhhh-"

"I mean, she said this guy just up and **left** her. Now she's going **out** with him?!"

"Damon. You're…kind of…overreacting, don't you think?" Stefan advises. Damon scoffs and looks away stubbornly, then flops down on the couch, grabs the remote and unmutes the tv.

XXX

"So. How's the city?" she enthusiastically asked, sitting at the front in Alec's car. He smirked, glancing at her.

"Ah, the city's loud. Unbelievably loud." She chuckled lightly. "It actually feels really good to be back, even if it's just for a couple of days. I've really missed this place," he smiles. _'Well, this place has certainly missed you,'_ she refrained from saying.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm **really** glad to see you, but what brought you back?" she curiously asked.

Last they'd discussed that was almost a year ago, and he said he moving for good.

Oh. That day was one of Emily's worst. And his.

They met freshmen year. He majored in business, she in English, and they were introduced to one another through mutual friends. She caught his attention, and he persistently attempted to gain hers. He already had since day one, he just didn't know. He was charismatic, smart, ambitious, and fairly good-looking. His strong personality she did not overlook, and too felt the immediate attraction, but she played hard to get, and he did not disappoint. Eventually, they started dating. The reason her family found them an odd pair was because of how different they were. Emily was such a closed person, whilst he was far more outgoing and social. She was more routine-set, whilst he enjoyed spontaneity and surprises. It was because he was so different that she was first attracted to him. He often showered her with compliments, kissed her shamelessly in public, bought her random gifts, took her out to parties and late-night hangouts at the Grill, things she never would have once been inclined to do. He lured her out of her shell, and brought her only into sunlight, something she greatly admired and appreciated.

When he found out his dad got a new job in New York City, and had told him that he was moving, and that he ought to come with for a better education at the NYU, Alec thought long and hard about his decision.

Confessing to her that he had to leave was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. She was the kindest, most sensible person he'd ever met. Seeing her smile was what he often daily looked for.

But, as he was never coming back, a virtual relationship was one neither were willing to pursue. They had to say goodbye.

"Oh, nana isn't feeling so well," he replied, snapping her out of it. "Dad and I thought we'd check up on her, you know."

"Yeah? Is she okay?" Emily worriedly asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. Just a heavy cold, and she's stubborn about her medication. Typical nana," he mused. She smiled. She remembered his nana. Talkative old lady, but very sweet and caring. She made the best orange cake Emily ever tried.

"Right," she smiled in remembrance.

"Here we are," Alec parks at the Grill.

They climb out of the car, and approach the front of the building. "God, I've missed this place," he breathed. She grinned.

"Yeah. Remember? You practically lived here." He smiled at her, chuckling.

"I actually dropped by earlier to say hi to the guys." They enter the building, and are waved at by a few people whom Alec once had as friends. He was well-known amongst the town's crowded places. They're guided to a table, and sit.

"It's good to see you, Emily. You look amazing," he tells. Emily faces him, and smiles brightly, causing his heart to skip a beat. It was a sight he'd deeply missed.

"You look good too, Alec," she retorts. A waiter comes by and takes their order. Alec slyly asks for a plate of fries, flashing Emily a knowing wink. The fact that he remembered her favorite food made her smile happily.

Once the waiter's gone, he faces her again. "Hey. So. How've you been?" he asks. _'Hehe. How've __**I **__been? Boy, where can I start?' _she thought sarcastically.

"I've been good," she said instead.

"Oh. Hey. Listen," he calls, serious all of a sudden. "I'm really sorry about what happened…with your mom and dad." Emily's features fall. When he heard, he was genuinely shocked, and hated the fact that he'd found out several days **later**! "I wish I was there-"

"It's okay," she smiles dismissively. "I got your letter. It was really sweet." Alec eyed her sympathetically, but was smart enough not to enforce the topic.

"How's Jer and Elena?"

"They're good. Jer'll be really excited to know you're back."

"Yeah. I'm definitely gonna call him up. I actually ran into Tucker." Emily listened with interest, and for a while, they continued to discuss old friends and reminisce.

XXX

"Damon. Where are you going?" Stefan demanded.

"It's been an hour. I'm gonna go pick her up," he says nonchalantly. Stefan zoomed to the door to block him.

"Damon. Stop. You're being ridiculous. You can't decide who she can and can't see."

"I'm **not**. I'm making sure she doesn't **kill** anyone," Damon smiles in mock. "Now. Get the hell out of my way."

XXX

"So. You seeing anyone?" Alec semi-casually asked. Emily's expression went slightly blank.

"Ummm." _'Damon. No! I'm not seeing __**Damon**__! I mean…No…' _ "Not exactly," she uncertainly replied. Alec cocked a brow.

"Not exactly? What kinda relationship is that?" he smirked humorously, despite growing slightly wary.

"Hehe. Yeah. It's. Not. Uh. No one."

"No, come on," he encouraged. She shook her head and smiled.

"No. Really. It's…" _'It's what?' _"too complicated. I don't wanna get into it. You go." Not wanting to push, Alec humored her.

"Well. I did. For a bit." Despite her interested expression, he was hesitant to go on. "Her name was Sarah, but, uh, then we broke off," he pursed his lips. Emily frowned.

"Aw. Why?" _'Why?' _Alec thought sarcastically.

"Well. To be honest. Ieee couldn't stop. Comparing her…to you…"

…Emily's heart jumped, and brows raised.

"Emily," he placed his hand on hers. _'I just. Have to tell her.' _"I know we…broke off, because of the long distance thing, but…I really miss you. You're…an amazing person, and, I may have lived a short life," he smirks, then his expression hardens, "but if there's one thing I regret, it was having to leave you behind."

_'Oh god,'_ her mind uttered in shock. "Alec…" she breathed, a conflicted look in her eyes.

He said nothing more, but studies those green eyes intently, searching for a sign, something that said she felt the same way. He glanced at her lips, and remembered how good they felt against his.

He leaned in.

_ 'Oh my god!' _her brain exclaimed as her heart further raced. Unintentionally, and in blame of romantic, past memories,

she leaned in too.

XXX

"Damon," Stefan called. Damon, who'd returned about fifteen minutes later **without** Emily, ignored him as he entered his room. "Damon!" Stefan repeated, only to be ignored again as the latter shut the door, loudly. Stefan stepped in regardless. "Where is she?" he asked worriedly. Damon chuckled coldly.

"She, hehe. Yeah. Get out," he said, grabbing a bottle from atop a side drawer and taking a large swig. Stefan's concern only grew, but for a different reason then.

"What happened?"

"I said," Damon faced him again,

murder in his eyes.

"Get.

Out."

XXXXX


	44. Chapter 44

_"Hey. Emily."_

"Hi. Stefan. Is everything okay?"

_"I was just about to ask you the same thing. Where are you?"_

"I'm on my way back. Why?"

_"…Nothing. Just checking in."_

That sounded suspicious.

"Where's, uh, where's Damon?" she asked shakily.

_"He's…here. I'll see you when you get back."_

"Yeah. Okay." She hung up, deciding to vamp-speed the rest of the way, rather than walk, and think,

of what had happened…

XXX

"Hey," she greeted Stefan as she entered the house.

"Hey," he smiled at her from near the fireplace. "How'd it go?" he asked, acting casual as he tried to figure out what had Damon so off.

"Uhhh. Fine," she vaguely gave, expression plain. Stefan's brows furrowed. "Where's Damon?" she asked as a change of subject.

"Uh, upstairs. In his room."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, approaching the stairs.

"Uh, Emily," he called. She faced him in compliance. "He's not. In a very. Talkative mood," Stefan strangely warned. Emily eyed him in confusion.

"Is he okay? What happened?" she asked, walking back towards Stefan, who was also approaching her.

"Uh, I don't know," he replied half-honestly. Emily gave it a think-about, coming to a bitter conclusion.

"Is it because I stayed out?" she asked guiltily. Stefan looked hesitant. He half-suspected it had to do something with her, but not because she stayed out.

"I. Maybe. I'm not sure."

"Okay. Well. I'll talk to him," she nodded, re-approaching the stairs. Stefan refrained from stopping her, not wanting to give her the wrong idea, as he honestly wasn't sure what Damon's problem suddenly was.

XXX

Peeking her head in from the door, Emily sees he's got a chair opposite his fireplace, a bottle hanging in his hand as he just sat. "Hey," she softly greeted, entering.

"Ah, she's back," Damon mused, not bothering to look up.

"I am," she smiled lightly, approaching his side. She poked his shoulder almost unnoticeably. "Are you upset with me?" she asks considerately. Damon finally looks up at her, eyeing her questionably, before he smiled fake-ly.

"Now why would you think that?" he retorted, the sarcasm in his tone undetectable.

"Stefan sai-"

"**Stefan**, should mind his own goddamn business," Damon sighs and gets to his feet, taking a large swig from the half-empty bourbon bottle. Emily wonders why he seemed so on edge. "So, how was your date?" he asked out-of-the-blue, his back to her as he walked slowly.

Falsely assuming he was fishing for a distraction from his sour mood, Emily humored him.

Then, her mind started replaying said 'date,' how pleasant it was at first, and how awkwardly it ended. "It wasn't a date. We were just catching up," she replies almost tiredly. Damon smirks in mock, and places the bottle on the side-table in distracted motion, feeling the heat in his chest increase.

"Really?" he asked, tone disbelieving. Emily squinted her eyes at him suspiciously, attempting to grasp what he was getting at. He speaks up again before she got a chance to ask. "You know, it-" he turns, and starts to approach her, an unreadable expression on his face that had her growing wary, "-qualifies as a date,

if you seal it with a kiss_._"

…Emily's eyes widen momentarily, before she quickly looks aside. "Well, we didn't," she says, crossing her arms.

Damon eyes her menacingly, then crosses his arms as well as he masked his rage. "You don't have to lie about it." Emily faces him in great confusion at what he meant. "Not like I'm your boyfriend," he smirks sarcastically. She raises both brows at him in un-expectance. "You can do what you want. So good for you. Getting back with the ex that abandoned you," he audibly mocked, then turned and walked towards his bed as Emily stared at him in disbelief.

Her mouth hung open, both insulted by his tone and greatly perplexed. She stomped after him. "I'm not getting back with anyone, **Damon**. I **didn't** kiss him!" Damon cringes in escalated annoyance.

"Please!" he refused.

Then, it hit her like a brick.

"…You were watching me…" she uttered, and walked to catch his eyes. "**Weren't** you?" she demanded.

"Watching you?" he retorted, as though offended. "You don't **need** watching, Emily." Then he decided that denying his presence meant she could insist to lie, and he had to make sure she **knew** that he saw. "I was just dropping by to make sure you hadn't **killed** anyone. And bravo! You hadn't!" Emily grows mad with his persistently sarcastic and offensive tone.

"Stop it!" Damon seemed to enjoy the fact that he was getting to her. He wasn't even close to even for how she made him feel.

"Stop what?" he shot back.

Emily had had it with his attitude,

but then,

her mind points out a vital fact.

The way he was acting only possibly meant one thing.

…He was jealous…

Instead of confirming the fact that he had no right to be, she found she was looking to **assure** him!

"I **didn't ** kiss him," she insisted. Damon rolled his eyes. She resumed regardless. "**He **leaned in," she confessed, grasping his serious attention alas. "And for a minute, so did **I**. Cause you know what? You're right. You're **not** my boyfriend!" The statement seems to greatly get to Damon, causing him to glare heatedly at her. "But, apparently, that didn't matter," she said, eyes wild, "cause I **couldn't stop** thinking about you!"

At that, Damon's anger somewhat recedes…

"I got up. He went after me." The mere mention of Alec succeeds in irritating Damon. "I didn't even give him a reason. I didn't **have** one, because you're…" she grows quiet, but Damon wouldn't have her stopping then, so close to what sounded like a confession he thought he **had** to hear.

"I'm what?" he pushed. Her eyes dart back and forth between his in hesitance.

"I can't ask you to…" Then she stares angrily at him. "What do you want from me, Damon?!" she shouts, taking him off guard. "To make a **complete** fool of myself in front of you?! To **admit** that I have **feelings** for you?" Damon eyes her intently, fairly taken aback.

His heartrate escalates.

"Just to be told that you **don't**?" Acknowledging the question that suddenly sounded bizarre, Damon's brows furrowed. "Because you **can't**, because!" she quiets again, unable to find the right words.

"Because **what?!**" Damon impatiently pushed.

"Because how **can** you, after having loved someone else for over a **hundred **years?!"

Damon snaps.

"I am **sick**," he approaches her to a foot-apart, a furious look on his face, "of people saying that. I've **wasted** over a hundred years loving someone else!" he corrects. "Whatever feelings I had for Katherine **died** the **second** I found out she wasn't in that tomb! That she **never** needed saving, that she never **ever** loved me! So, what you're so afraid of, is complete **crap**!" he exclaims.

"But, Damon, **listen **to yourself! You're not **over** her!"

"No, I'm not over what **happened**! There's a **huge** difference. As in, if she's in front of me **right** now, I'd RIP OUT HER HEART, like she did to me! **Explain** to me, how that has anything to do with_…_"

he grows silent,

…

and looks away…

"…

With what?" she softly encouraged.

Damon looks to her again,

a different, more gentle look in his eyes.

_'…You…You're driving me crazy,'_ his mind uttered. "When I saw you with him," he started, tone calmer with a sharp edge to it. Emily was greatly taken aback by the prologue to what he was about to say. Her heart seems aware, and races alongside his. "The only reason I walked away, was because I thought it was what you wanted too."

His expression then hardens.

"The **whole** way back, **all** I kept thinking about, was **ripping** him apart **limb** from limb…

What does that tell you?"

…For nearly a full minute, Emily is silent, eyes wide, lips parted, processing with great difficulty what she was being told.

She washed a tense hand through her hair. "God, Damon! You're driving me crazy," she breathed. Damon shook his head. He pulled her wrist away and took her hand in his.

"No, you're driving **yourself** crazy," he said. Emily's conflicted eyes looked into his longingly. "**You're** holding back…

Stop holding back…"

…

Cursing every obstacle in the world,

Emily grabbed him by the collar

and crashed her lips onto his.

Damon felt as though she'd breathed **life** back into him, and wasted **no** time in wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closely. She put her hands behind his neck, and kissed him ferociously. He kissed her back with equal force.

When his hand slid down to her hip, she hoisted herself up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Damon vamp-sped them to his bed…

XXXXX


	45. Chapter 45

Ironic how many times they'd shared a kiss, and yet, in that moment, it was like their first.

In a frenzy of passion, they tore at each other's lips.

On her part, she was acting just as fiercely, kissing him **just** as deeply, unlike how she'd ever done before, he noticed. Then again, he didn't blame her. The tension between them had been building up for **days**. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand **why** they'd been holding back. Yes, **they**. **He**'d been holding back too.

**Why**?

His search for an answer was cut short when Emily flipped their positions, rendering him beneath her. With such force, she tore open his shirt. A force he'd only noted when they were sparring. It was one of the reasons each match had him so uncontrollably turned on. She was always so timid and calm, if sometimes bubbly and giddy. But this ferocity, this inner beast, he loved luring out of her.

Emily couldn't fully tell what had overcome her, why she wanted this so badly, wanted **him**. She gazed at his now bare chest with such hunger. The hills and valleys of his chiseled chest. She found it was to no surprise his body was as fit as he acted.

She wanted to feel it – feel **him** against herself. She peeled off her own shirt, and tossed it aside, remaining in her dark, tight bra that intentionally pushed out her cleavage. The fact that they were actually going through with this hit them, and there was no way either was backing down. At the same time, they both went for each other's mouths. They were sitting up then, embracing and kissing in all passion. Emily could feel his body against hers, could literally hear his heartbeat with her heightened hearing. It was so fast. So was hers.

Damon released her lips to praise the rest of her. He kissed her jaw, her neck – up and down. Her chest. She was so lost to his greedy, gentle touch, she found she was unintentionally digging her nails into his back in this…**resistance**,

and when his heartbeat became louder in her ears, when it became all she could hear. When his scent overwhelmed her, she realized what was happening; she'd started to crave him.

Finally feeling her face change, her fangs unsheathe, she panicked.

She pulled away several inches, still seated in his lap, panting heavily both. He noticed her blood-red eyes, the darker veins beneath them, her parted lips and the glow of her extended fangs. She refused to look at him, one hand still clenching his shoulder. He could feel her tension, her fear.

"Hey," he tried to tilt her chin up.

"No," she shook her head, attempting to calm herself, to put away the damned fangs. Damon was far from concerned, and it was evident in his tone.

"Emily. Look at me," he encouraged. She did, eyes first landing on his eyes, then lips…then neck, that flow of blood still tempting her. "It's alright," he assured confidently.

He smirked. "You're craving me. It is beyond hot," he teased. His humor seemed to tone her down, her features returning to normal. His own grew serious once more. He put his thumb to her lower lip, and his forehead slowly against hers. "There's nothing you can do to hurt me," he quietly told. Registering his words, she realized it was indeed why she'd grown hesitant. Then, processing them carefully, she found them slightly hard to believe, as feeding on him did initially sound like something painful to do, forgetting the fact that it was far from it when he once did it to her. "So do it…" he told firmly, unwavering, like he wanted her to.

He did. She noted then, in his eyes. _'Those gorgeous, glowing eyes…'_ He was literally asking her to.

All previous worries seemed to vanish when he kissed her again, consuming those pink, plum lips between his.

It didn't take long for her craving to take hold yet again. She **needed** him, it seemed. With close to no resistance on his side, there was nothing left to stop her. Her sane mind was blindingly clouded by what she could only call Damon.

She positioned her lips to his neck. Damon closed his eyes in anticipation. She opened her mouth, her fangs slithering back out. Damon groaned as she injected them into his skin. He tangled his hand in her short, brown hair locks, his other hand sneaking beneath the back of her bra strip, too distracted at the moment to simply unclip it.

To have someone drink from him was something he rarely allowed, mainly because he never often ran into female vampires that he decided to sleep with. But it was different this time.

Because of this…difference, and to his great distaste, it reminded him of the first time this had happened to him. With Katherine. Stubbornly, Damon refused to ruin the moment with memories of **her**, and he focused fully on Emily. To share his blood with her was delightfully unique to him, even if he couldn't entirely comprehend why. He was too foggy-minded to care, completely lost to the moment, as her.

To drink from him was unlike any…**regular **feed. It wasn't a feed at all, it wasn't satiating any hunger, save lust. She couldn't describe how…euphoric it felt. All she seemed to care to notice, or convince herself of, was that she was tasting **him**, drinking him in. It was so intimate.

Soon enough, she pulled away. She licked the blood seeping from his already healing wound up leisurely, causing Damon to moan in pleasure. Suddenly, he gripped her hair and pulled her back, exposing her neck further before he – without warning – bit into it. "Uhh," Emily breathed, dripping wet fast.

When he pulled away, they locked eyes once more, each's mouths dripping with one another's blood.

They locked lips without hesitation. The erotica of the situation was driving Emily mad. Damon unclipped her bra,

and pushed her back down onto the bed.

XXX

"Come on, Jeremy, going to school! Walking out the door now!" Elena irritably calls, two feet from the front door.

"Forgot this!" Jenna says, jogging after her and handing her a thermos.

"Oh. Thanks," Elena smiles, taking it as she opened the door with her other hand.

Turning to it, Elena is faced with none other than her uncle, John Gilbert. "Elena!" John greets enthusiastically. Fairly surprised, Elena smiles back awkwardly.

"Uncle John! Hi," she half-heartedly tried.

Uncle John. What on earth was he doing there, and why hasn't she been warned?

There was nothing particularly wrong with him, besides the fact that she often couldn't stand him. To Elena specifically, John was very, very nosy, so for him to show up now, meant he'd ask about her friends, openly judge them if he pleased, most likely mock Stefan, and criticize every other activity she chose to do.

He was always like this with her, and it bothered her greatly. He wasn't this way with Emily and Jeremy.

The uncle then faced the aunt. "Jenna," he nodded solely at her.

"John. You made it," she smiled forcefully.

Jenna too disliked him, but for a wholly different reason.

They used to date, before Logan.

It was a hectic relationship, and they ended on bitter terms.

"I said I'll be here before noon," he retorts as though mocking her intelligence, entering the house with suitcase in hand, something that made Elena greatly wary.

"Oh, well, what you say and what you do are typically two very different things," Jenna shot back sarcastically.

Just then, John sees Jeremy rushing down the stairs with a backpack slung over his shoulder. He is also surprised to see John, but didn't mind him at all. "Uncle John!" he smiled lightly, stopping opposite him. "What are you doing here?" John smiled back pleasantly, placing a hand on Jer's shoulder

"I had some business in town; I thought that a visit was in order," he replied.

"How long are you staying?" Elena asked, the distaste in her tone masked with causality. John wasn't stupid. He knew he was unwanted, he just didn't care.

"I don't know yet," he answered. Elena inhaled a tense breath.

"Okay, well, We're gonna go to school," she glances meaningfully at Jer, who approaches the door. "We'll see you later," she gave before turning. John nodded understandingly and headed in.

At the doorway, Elena glared at Jenna, who seemed to know of his arrival and hadn't said a word before. Jenna gives her a displeased look that mimicked hers before shutting the door.

She then faced John. "So really, how long are you staying?" she asked irritably. John eyed her intently.

"Can't you at least pretend that you're happy to see me?" he asks with equal distaste. Jenna suddenly smiles.

"Oh my god John! It's so good to see you," she jokingly started. John cocked an unamused brow at her. "How have you been?" Then, her expression hardens. "No, I can't," she tells.

"Do you really think that I was just gonna sign the escrow papers and send them back?" he says seriously.

"Actually, I did."

"I'm not going to let you sell my brother's office."

"It's not up to you or me; it belongs to Emily, Jer-"

"Where **is** Emily? College?" he asks, eyeing around for her.

"Maybe. I don't know." John raises a brow again and faces Jenna again.

"You **don't** know?" he retorted, getting worried.

"She's been staying with Damon for the past few days," Jenna replies nonchalantly.

John's eyes widen.

"Damon **Salvatore**?" he asks.

"Yeah," Jenna replies, eyeing him strangely before she stepped into the kitchen and he followed.

Oh no.

"What is she **doing** there? And what do you mean, **a** **few** **days**?!" he asked, tone escalating. Jenna faced him in annoyance.

"I don't know! They're close friends."

"Close friends?! What the-Okay," he turns on his heels.

"Where are you going?!" Jenna demanded, rushing after him.

"To get her back," he stormed out and shut the door behind him.

Jenna sighed tiredly, and sought her phone to warn Emily.

XXX

The sound of it ringing from her room awoke her. Her heightened hearing often really tuned in upon waking up, so she could hear it quite vividly. Groggily, she sat up, surprised she actually found it in her. After the night her and Damon had, she figured they'd both be in bed all day.

Emily couldn't help smirking coyly at that. However, her phone wouldn't stop ringing, so, reluctantly, she rose to her feet, and fished her scattered clothes off the floor of the room dimly lit by the adjacent bathroom's bulb. The heavy curtains were drawn shut – as almost always – shielding the daylight.

Damon shifted on the bed, awakening. He looked up with squinted eyes to notice a now only half-naked Emily. "Well, hello," he flirted. She grinned, shaking her head as she pulled up her pants.

"Hello to you too, handsome."

"Oh, new nicknames. I like it," he sits up, groaning in fading fatigue, and only then noticing that she was getting dressed. "Where're you off to?"

"My phone was ringing, and I don't think Stefan would appreciate running into a naked Gilbert in the hallway," she smirks, fixing on her shirt.

"I would," Damon grins. She giggles in retort, approaching him with fast steps. She surprises him with a heavy kiss on the lips, causing to moan contently, before she pulled away and rushed out the door. She opened it, flashed him a smirk, then shut it behind her.

Damon smirked to himself, and fell back into the bed with a sigh.

In a long time, things couldn't seem to get any better than what he was experiencing then…

XXXXX


	46. Chapter 46

The phone had stopped ringing, and she noted a missed call from Jenna. She also noted the time. It was seven forty-three **am**, too early for a call of any kind. About to call her back, the front door to the mansion knocks and grasps her attention.

Damon hears it too, and groans irritably, attempting to get up and answer it. Stefan was at school, something he hadn't taken into consideration, for if he knew it was Emily who'd answered the door, he'd have been faster to get up.

Listening in, he hears her voice, and straightens quickly.

"Uncle John. Hi," she greets, un-expecting. Damon somewhat relaxes at that. He eavesdrops regardless as he got dressed.

"Princess!" John grins, stepping in and engulfing her in a tight hug. Emily hugged him back and laughed out, still surprised but not displeased.

As practically the first child to enter his life, Emily and John bonded strongly during her childhood. His older brother, her father, had raised her well. She was a shy, quiet, and sweet little girl, whom John often showered with toys.

Like Jeremy, Emily, despite often being displeased with his rude and arrogant attitude with others, did indeed enjoy John's company.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, pulling away.

"Taking you home. Come on," he nodded at the door.

Alarm bells went off in her head, signaling why she musn't.

Her smile fell.

Damon tensed.

"I…I can't," she shook her head, taking a step back. She then forced a smile, about to say that there was something she had to do, when John spoke up, approaching her.

"Why? Did they tell you you can't leave?" he warily asked. Both Damon and Emily are confused by this.

"They?" she retorted perplexedly.

"The Salvatores. Did they tell you you can't leave this building?" he asked gravely, grasping her shoulders and eyeing her intensely.

Damon's eyes widen in realization.

This Gilbert knew too.

Emily is still attempting to piece things. "I-No. They didn't," she rejects.

"Then why can't you leave?" he raises a brow.

…What would she say to **that**?

"I…I just-"

"Good morning," Damon called, smiling at John as he approached the two from the stairs. Emily is greatly relieved he'd stepped in. He stretched out a hand. "Damon Salvatore." Skeptically, John took it.

"John Gilbert," he retorted.

"Emily's uncle. It's a pleasure," Damon nodded, pretending that he and Emily were close enough that she'd discussed her family. They had, just not as far as distant relatives. "How may we help you?"

"I'm here to take Emily home," John said pointedly.

"Oh. I see," he faces Emily, smiling still. "Can't say she won't be missed." Emily studied Damon worriedly, attempting to get what he was aiming at.

Surely he wouldn't actually let this happen.

"Emily. Get your stuff. Let's go," John called. Emily faced him reluctantly, then Damon again, who nodded assuringly at her.

After another hesitant moment, she uttered a quiet 'okay' before heading for the stairs, eyes glancing between a serious John, and a confident Damon as she climbed up.

When out of sight, Damon faces John,

and John faces him.

"Can I offer you a drink, John? Coffee? Bourbon?" Damon gestures, stepping in towards the kitchen. John shut the front door and headed after Damon, playing along.

"Neither, but thanks. So. Damon. You and Emily are…what, exactly?" John asks instead. Damon faces him.

"Oh, um. Close friends," Damon smiles,

then upon recalling the heated night before,

can't help but grin, and had to keep himself from laughing in what felt like naughty mischief.

"Really?" John crosses his arms,

and Damon notices his ring…

Just like Alaric's.

Well. Compelling this guy was certainly out of the question.

He was gonna have to try better than the 'friends' thing, it obviously wasn't convincing.

"Well. If we're being honest. We might be, a little more than that," he said suggestively. John raises both brows in consideration.

"Really? Is that what you're telling her to get her to sleep with you?" John asked almost menacingly.

Damon is fairly taken aback by his tone,

so is Emily, who was listening in whilst half-heartedly packing. She pauses.

Damon is in the process of shaking his head, when John steps up towards him.

"Let's just get this out of the way. I know what you are. I know **who** you are, and I'm only gonna say this once.

Stay the **hell** away from my niece."

…

…

Damon smiles.

Emily is rooted to her spot in shock.

Damon nods in consideration,

then snaps John's neck.

…

At the heavy thud, Emily rushed out her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen.

…The sight of John's body on the ground hits her like a wave.

"**Before** you freak out," Damon called, causing her wide eyes to snap to his. He kneels down beside the body, takes John's left hand, and show's her the ring. "Just like Alaric's." Emily's escalated heartrate somewhat resides. "He'll wake up in a minute. Which means we don't have a lot of time," he rises again, and walks towards her.

"T-Time for what?" she asked, greatly perplexed.

"You have to go with him."

"What?!" He takes her hands in his to calm her.

"Listen. You heard what he said, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Then you understand, he knows. And that could be a serious problem. Now, he was worried what I'd do to you, which means he doesn't know what **you** are yet, and we should keep it that way. We have to play along, till we find out what he knows, and what he wants. Okay?"

Emily doesn't know what to say, not believing what she was hearing, that her uncle, someone she'd know her whole life, somehow held knowledge of the supernatural world, and had a ring that could **resurrect** him, someone whom she couldn't tell about her novel being,

out of fear?!

"Emily, look at me," Damon called for her attention, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Go to your room. Pack some of your stuff. I'll come by your place, drop off some blood bags, and I'll even stay the night to make sure it goes smoothly. Where the hell is Stefan?" he asked suddenly, eyeing around.

"…School," Emily utters absently. Damon takes this in, and nods in acknowledgment.

"Right. Okay. Go," he pushed her gently back towards the stairs. She complied and sought her room again.

Damon faced John's body…

XXX

"I put him on the couch," Damon tells, entering her room to find her vamp-speeding from the closet to her bag back and forth.

"And I'm done," she retorted, stilling alas opposite him. "When you said we need to find out what he knows, you meant me," she says, tone fast, like she'd been thinking and had to speak her thoughts. Damon furrows his brows at the semi-inquiry.

"Uhhh-"

"Which means he has to know that I know, so he'll talk to me," she resumed, logic-wise. Damon mulls it over, disliking it for some reason.

"…Yeah. Okay. Just. Don't tell him-"

"What I am. I know…" she says, almost in disappointment. Her mood affects him, and he is silent to her statement, unsure what to say, as John was a surprise to them both. "How do you think he'd react if he found out?" she asked him, half curious, half worried. Damon lightly winced.

"Uhhh, I have no idea. Probably best if you find out how he feels about **other** vampires before you tell him you **are** one," Damon grins, peppering the serious situation with humor. Emily sighs tiredly, washing a hand through her hair. Damon wants to somehow ease her concerns, or maybe it was the sudden momentary urge, so, determined they'd no longer 'hold back,' he gave in.

He put his index finger to her chin and turned her to face him. The look in his eyes grasped her undivided attention. He then put that hand behind her head and neared her as his other rested on her hip. She placed a palm on that hand, and her other on his shoulder as he leaned in, and took her lips in his.

Flashbacks from the night before made them both take a sharp intake of breath, a relieved one, an anticipating one.

It was mad with passion, their night together, it was long-awaited.

The way he'd touched her, the way she'd moaned his name, the way he'd brought her to her edge more than once, the way she'd kissed him with oceans of love, the way he'd whispered her name when he was close, the way she'd eyed him before sleep claimed them both.

John yelling Emily's name broke their very vivid train of thoughts, and their kiss. They were both visually irritated, more of what was to come than the initial interruption.

"I'll handle it," she nodded with a newly found sense of confidence. Damon refocuses on her. "You stay here. Don't come out till we're gone," she said, walking back to her backpack and slinging it onto her shoulder as Damon strangely asked:

"Why?"

"Cause, you just killed him," she smiled in sarcasm. "I don't want to witness the retaliation," she pats Damon's shoulder before flashing him a sly smirk, and heading for the door.

XXX

"Right here," Emily called back at John, who was eyeing around for her worriedly, having just awoken from literal death! He whirls his head to face her, relieved, as she descends the stairs and flashes him a smile.

"Damon is-"

"Gone. He left. Let's go," she lied, headed for the front door.

Suspicious still, John ripped his gaze from scouring for Damon, to following after his niece.

XXXXX


	47. Chapter 47

"So. Uncle John. What brings you back to Mystic Falls?" she asked curiously as he pulled out of parking.

"Business. Here," he pulls

a metallic dart out of his jacket pocket,

removes the lid, and hands it to her.

"Drink it," he said, referring to the clear liquid within.

"…Vervain?" she asked warily. John, with one hand on the wheel and the other holding the vail, faces her, taken aback by her valid assumption, and what her knowledge meant.

Her eyes then widen.

She shouldn't drink that.

Maybe shouldn't even touch it.

"I'm already wearing it," she gave, dismissing his offer. John half-consciously pulled his hand back, and carefully re-constructed the dart as he drove.

"You know," he stated as a matter of fact.

"…I do," she nodded, uncertain how exactly this ought to go.

"When?"

"Around two years ago. Johnathan Gilbert's journal."

"…So, you **know**…And yet, somehow, you let yourself get involved with Damon Salvatore of all vampires," he retorts judgmentally. Emily squinted her eyes at him irritably.

"You're talking like you **know** him."

"I know what he's **done**, and that's enough."

"And what exactly is that?"

"Do you know how many people he's **killed**?" The statement seems to take her off guard, as she hadn't perceived him as a villain in a fairly long time. Ironic, considering he'd **killed** her very same uncle mere minutes ago.

"…Yes…I do…" she answered disappointedly. Nobody was perfect, and Damon's mistakes were plenty. "But I also know he cares about me-"

"Please, Emily. You really believe that?" John rejected in mock. Emily glared heatedly at him then. The fact that Damon cared for her was undoubted in her mind. She'd seen it, experienced it, enough times for her to be stupid to deny its existence.

"He's saved my life **more** than once."

"**When**? Let me guess, from situations **he** put you in."

"No. Definitely not."

"Then what?"

"Okay. One time. I was on the road. There was a guy, a **vampire**." The sudden, fast-told story, takes John off guard. "Came out of nowhere. The car flipped. He was coming at me. He wanted me out of the picture so he could get to Elena, cause she looked like some woman named Katherine. Long-story-short, if Damon hadn't been there…" she shakes her head, heart racing as though longingly

for the man she seemed to already start missing,

"I don't know what would've happened…"

John listens intently to the story, one she surely couldn't have made up.

Still.

It wasn't enough.

"Doesn't erase everything he's done. Who he really is.

A murderer," he says.

The word seems to intently point to a heavily dark memory Emily withheld.

Vicki…Whom she'd murdered herself...

"…We all make mistakes," she quietly retorts, refusing his eyes. John faces her in bewilderment.

"Seriously?! That's what you have to say? What's gotten in to you, Emily?!"

"A lot!" she shouts, facing him angrily. "A **damn** lot's happened since the last time **you** were here!"

John felt she was accusing his absence, and was at a loss for words, jaw clenched as he inhaled sharply.

Emily felt tears well up in her eyes, and wished she'd never left Damon's warm company.

If there was one thing she hated about turning, it was how easy it made it to cry.

She hated crying, hated feeling weak, helpless.

She pulled herself together stubbornly, and none more was spoken till their arrival.

XXX

Jenna greets Emily back warmly, and Emily couldn't deny having greatly missed her. Jenna also discreetly apologized for John's unexpected barge in, and admits to having tried to warn her through the phone. Emily assures her, no harm was done, a complete lie, but there was no need for the oblivious aunt to worry.

Emily made her way to her room, and took a much-needed shower to wash off,

well, her and Damon's hot sex stench that, thankfully, no one's seemed to pick up on.

Speak of the devil…

"Damon!" she exclaimed, stepping out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her form.

"Oh, my," Damon smirked, eyeing her keenly from head to toe. She sighed tiredly.

"You should really learn to knock, you know?" she scolded, smiling.

"And miss out on this," he raised a brow, approaching her. He locked onto her dilated gaze, a heavy tension between them as well as a form of ease.

"Thought you might need this," he brought up a thermos and handed it to her. she took it, and somehow already knew what was inside. She slid apart the opening, and immediately brought it to her lips, gulping down the bloody liquid and giving Damon a chance to admire a wet Emily some more. Her moan of fulfilment snaps him out of it, as well as arouses him, before he responsibly pulled the bottle away from her. "Okay. Leave some for later," he said as he noted through the semi-transparent bottle that it's half was already depleted.

He went ahead and put the bottle on her nightstand as he asked: "So, how'd it go with uncle Gilbert?" Acknowledging the question, Emily slumped tiredly, and approached her dressing table as she went through it in her head again.

"He, uhhh, asked me, how I knew, after-oh. Right," she faced Damon, who was approaching her. "He tried to offer me vervain." Damon raises his brows. "Yeah. I had to tell him I was already wearing it. Which, of course, told him that I knew too, and that's when he asked me how." She faced the table again and grabbed a hair brush, sweeping it through her wet strands. "I told him about the journal, and. I forgot to ask him how **he** knew. Things…sort of…escalated," she said uncomfortably. Damon crossed his arms.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Ummm," she seemed reluctant to tell.

"He mentioned me," Damon retorted knowingly. Emily smirked awkwardly at him as she brushed her hair half-heartedly. "Let me guess. He told you to stay away from me. That I was dangerous. Etc. etc," Damon smirked as though proudly, stepping up behind Emily.

"Something along that line." She grinned, facing him in the mirror as he put his hands on her hips, before pushing her hair aside to expose her neck. She persistently continued, wanting Damon to hear the rest. "I told him he didn't even know you, and that you'd saved my life, more than once." She placed her hands on top of his, and her head fell back as Damon's lips brushed the skin of her neck, before he looked up at what she'd said. Her statement seems to get to Damon – like she'd intended – thinking she was the only person that thought him a hero of some sort…

the only person that saw good in him…

"He wasn't very convinced," she resumed, smirking sarcastically.

"Hm," Damon muttered carelessly, showing more interest in her neck than the fairly important conversation. "Is that vanilla?" he asked, inhaling her scent. She chuckled in amusement.

"Yeah. My shampoo."

"Mm," he placed random kisses on her neck, fumbling with the towel, attempting to take it off and immediately having her heat up.

The sound of fast-approaching footsteps causes him to stop, and they listened warily, then the door knocked. Damon rolled his eyes as John's voice called her name from behind. He stepped back as she attempted to fix her towel tight, facing Damon. He shrugged and sped away, out the window. She sighed in annoyance as she approached the door.

She opened it a small gap, peeking her head at John curiously. Noting she was in a towel, John understood her discretion. Still, skepticism had him glancing behind her, around the room as though in search of something off. "Yes?" she called for his attention. He faced her again.

"I'm heading out. I'll be back in a bit," he stated, not something he needed her to know, but he did actually want to make sure she wasn't followed by the older Salvatore. Emily as well does not see why this was her concern, brows furrowed as she merely nodded.

"Okay."

"Emily! Breakfast!" Jenna called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Emily confirmed as John walked back and away to leave.

XXX

A few hours later, Jeremy and Elena arrive home to find Emily. They are happy with her return, but Elena is then reminded by the reason Emily was gone from the start, and had to ask what brought her back, especially without Damon's supervision. Emily explained that John's arrival complicated their 'process,' but that Damon would be staying over, and she refrained from saying 'to make sure things stay under control,' so as not to worry her sibling.

She didn't think she could handle the thought of Elena being scared of her, and she most certainly didn't want to test it.

The mention of Damon triggers one of Elena's memories, and she found something she had to mention.

"You know, Stefan came over last night," she says with a poker face, seated opposite Emily on the latter's bed.

"Really?" Emily retorted curiously.

"Yeah, you see. He had trouble staying around

while you and Damon were doing it!" she exclaimed.

Emily's eyes widen. "Shh! Shh!" she urged, then couldn't help laughing out loud, infecting Elena as well as she couldn't help but chuckle. Despite so, Elena didn't find the situation as amusing, and had to remove her own smile of entertainment.

"I told you, staying with him, **sleeping** with him was a sure-to-happen," Elena stated. Emily picked up on her look of disapproval. She rolled her eyes.

"If you want me to say it shouldn't have, I am **not** going to. Last night was possibly the **best** night of my life," Emily confessed, unable to compose her

joy…Actual joy…When was the last time she'd felt that?

Elena scoffed, unconvinced. Emily glared at her heatedly. "Oh really?" she angrily stated. Elena sighed tiredly.

"Look. I'm not trying to…I just…want you to be careful-"

"About **what**?!"

"You **know** what!"

"No, actually. I **don't**. What exactly **is** it with you people?! You. Jenna. John! I mean. I could **swear** I remember you **thanking** Damon once for saving my life. Remember? When I had a fucking **tree**-branch **shoved** into my guts?!"

"Yeah, **Emily**! I remember! I remember what he did **after** too. Just. The **day**. **After**!" Emily couldn't seem to recall what had happened the day after, and continued to eye Elena with impatient expectance. "…He…turned you…" Elena says, eyes watering involuntarily.

Elena couldn't see how Emily didn't understand how **bad **that was. Perhaps Elena herself didn't know why it was indeed so bad.

But didn't she?

There was a time when she was afraid of Stefan, afraid of what he was capable of, of the fact that he often admitted he could lose control; and Stefan has been at this for **years**. Emily was **brand** new. How long before she could be qualified as **ready**? How did she think she could keep them safe if she was away everyday ensuring she herself was no threat to them? How could Elena cope with the fact that Emily had basically weaponized herself?

More than anything, perhaps the one thing Elena hated most, was how distant Emily had been. For more than two weeks, and Elena has only seen her sister twice or three times, in **two **weeks. It didn't help that it didn't feel like it was for the right reasons; the right reasons being possibly traveling abroad for work, or getting married and moving out. But turning into someone who drinks human blood for a living?

…Did Emily make the right choice? Did Damon, in agreeing to turn her?

Emily's brows furrow deeply, her face growing fairly red from frustration. "Because I **asked** him to!" she shouted back.

"**Guys**!" Jenna cuts in, opening the door and shocking both girls. "What is with all the yelling. What are you arguing about?!" she asks, taken aback. She was used to Jeremy and Elena fighting, but the two sisters almost never did.

Emily looked away, trying to compose herself. She could feel her eyes welling up, and wondered why in the world that was. _'I'm gonna have to ask Damon why turning's made me so fucking fragile!'_

"Nothing," Elena assured, also avoiding eye-contact. Jenna was unconvinced. She cocked a brow, stepping in.

"Definitely something. You guys never fight." Emily opened her mouth to tell Jenna off, when Elena spoke:

"She slept with Damon."

Both Emily and Jenna are shocked to hear this, the former more so. "What?" Jenna exclaimed, stepping in and closing the door behind her. Emily sighed exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What is the **big** deal? It's not any of your business!" _'Thanks for completely ruining it, guys,' _Emily thought.

"Well, sure. Of course, but. I mean," started Jenna, approaching the edge of the bed as Elena made room for her, well aware of the heated glare her sister was giving her. "Okay. How about. You…Explain to me, your relationship with Damon," Jenna requested, seeing as how mixed up the entire story was to her. First, Damon was 'just a friend,' then it's 'because of his ex,' and suddenly it's 'picnic date,' and 'having sex.'

"What? I mean…" Emily tried to answer that, still on the fact that it was none of their business.

What were they indeed? _'You know what.' _"We're not! Anywhere! We're figuring things out, okay? And. **Even** if this doesn't work out. **Even** if things get **too** complicated, I'm not gonna stop **seeing** Damon. He is my **friend**, okay? That's not gonna change," Emily persisted.

Jenna and Elena are greatly taken aback by this. Jenna was aware Emily was not the stubborn, insistent type. But then again, she wasn't around much when Emily was with Alec. Perhaps this is just how she was when it came to boys.

Elena, on the other hand…was greatly concerned. She felt her sister was more than lost to Damon's charm. She was so convinced that Damon still posed a threat, especially after he turned her sister. He turned her birth mother too! **And** Vicki! Back and forth he was ruining people's lives, and Elena was just as convinced that he'd ruined Emily's, she just wasn't sure in what sense. One thing she was certain of; Emily had been acting out a lot more ever since she'd gotten involved with Damon. More yelling. More snapping…More violent…

"…Okay," said Jenna calmly. Elena turned to her, taken aback. _'Just like that?'_ she wondered angrily. Emily eyed Jenna curiously. "We just…Didn't want you to get hurt, but if you feel you have this under control. If you two are just trying to see where this could go, then okay." The agreeing seemed to calm Emily somewhat, glad to see someone was seeing things her way. _'I'm not gonna get hurt…He's __**not**__ gonna hurt me,'_ her thoughts insisted.

…Elena mouth opened and closed in debate. She then decided to keep her thoughts to herself, refusing to further upset her sister, as well as semi-agreeing with Jenna. If only Damon was just a guy…Just human…But he wasn't, neither was her sister, and neither was her boyfriend…

XXX


	48. Chapter 48

_"Hey. Where are you?" _Stefan asked his brother through the phone.

"The Grill." Damon replied with a drink in hand.

_"Is Emily with you?"_

"No," Damon replied, lightly frowning. "She's at the house." She was snatched away too quickly after the mad night they'd had. He was eager to see her as soon as he could.

_"No. She's not here."_ Damon's brows furrowed, then he understood.

"Not that house. **Her** house."

_"What? What is she doing?" _Stefan's tone escalated with concern. Damon frowned once more, irritated.

"She had to go. Her uncle knows about us," he said with distaste. "But he doesn't know about her. He came to pick her up. Long story."

_"A story I need to __**hear**__, Damon. Get back here and explain things to me," _Stefan told gravely. Damon rolled his eyes. He sighs.

"I can't catch a break."

XXX

After having things explained to him, Stefan was only slightly reassured by the fact that Damon intended to spend the night with her.

The rest of the day, Emily spent with her family – if somewhat reluctantly –even John when he returned.

Elena and Emily's argument left them at some odds. Neither was willing much to speak to the other. Emily supposed she was waiting for an apology of some sort, one Elena refused to give because she remained sturdy by her opinion. Jenna tried to smooth things over and was cheery all day. Jeremy was in a good mood too. One couldn't tell if John was just pretending to be in one, for the only person he seemed to be getting along with without issues was Jeremy. Elena and Jenna remained distant with him, and Emily and he were unsure how to speak to another after what they'd discovered about each other. They also didn't get the chance to.

Emily was fairly eager to, considering that she'd told him how she knew in the car, and he hadn't spoken a word regarding his discovery of the supernatural.

Seated in the living room with everyone, all doing random things, Emily's phone rang. She looked to the caller id, and found it was Damon, who called to shut Stefan up, and to check up on her.

"Who is that?" asked John accusingly, looking up from his laptop. Beside him on the couch, was Jeremy, on his phone with speakers on. Elena was reading a book in an armchair, and Jenna was on the phone in the kitchen. Emily, who was also on her laptop on the other couch, debated replying to John's question with honesty, especially with the hostile look in his eyes.

"A friend from college," she answered, squinting her eyes at him. She moved the laptop from her lap to her side, and was to get up.

"Where are you going?" John retorted. She paused in her seat.

"To answer it," she stated an obvious fact. Elena was certain it was Damon calling, and was fairly uncomfortable.

"Well, if it's a friend from college, why not just answer it here?" he as if dares.

Accepting the challenge, Emily did. "Hey, Erica," she made up.

_"Erica?"_ Damon retorted, confused.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said, eyeing John intently.

_"Oh. Uncle Gilbert's got hawk eyes on you, huh?" _Damon stated knowingly.

"Yep," Emily smirked.

_"Flash him your fangs. That should shut him up."_ She grinned at that, face flushing red as though wary of exposition. John cocked a brow. _"I'm kidding, obviously."_

"You don't say. Look, I…haven't really studied that…So I can't really help you."

_"Oh, I think you can help me plenty," _Damon teased.

"I! Will see you later," she was unable to stop smirking at how ridiculous they were being, and how oblivious John was.

_"Will you still be in that towel when I come back?"_

"Goodbye! **Erica**!" she hung up before she could expose herself. She put the phone down, smirking at it, before she tossed it aside.

"What's so funny?" John asked nosely. Even Elena eyes him irritably.

"What? Erica said a joke," Emily told like it was none of his business. _'It's really not!'_ Then she couldn't help the smirk, for 'Erica,' happened to be a very attractive 'guy' **vampire**!

"What was it?" John pushed, feigning amusement.

"Okay. You know what," Emily got to her feet, causing Jeremy to look up and, noting the scowl on her face, remove his speakers in curiosity. "I'm **done** with the interrogation. You don't think I know what you're doing?"

"What's going on?" asked Jenna, who walked back from the kitchen.

"I was just about to ask the same thing," said John falsely. Emily eyed him irritably. "I mean, if it was just your friend 'Erica,' why are you so worked up?" he coyly asked. Jeremy raised a brow. How was he missing on all this drama? Emily couldn't help laughing at that in cold sarcasm.

"Funny; this cat and mouse game, but no thanks," she picks up her laptop and storms off.

"Hey, where are you going!" asked Jenna.

"To my room."

"Wo, come on!" but she was already gone. Jeremy follows after her, smirking in amusement. Jenna gives John a dirty look, before scoffing and flopping down on the couch. Elena touches her own head from a building-up headache.

XXX

"Wait! Wait. Wait," called Jeremy, slipping in before she shut the door.

"What? What do you want!" Emily tiredly exclaimed.

"Tell me what's going on?" he grinned.

"Ugh. John's giving me crap about Damon," she complained, placing her laptop on her desk. "Sticking his nose where it shouldn't be, obviously," she complained.

"Yeah, that's sounds about right," Jeremy retorts, seating himself on her bed comfortably.

"Can I help you?" she crossed her arms in disapproval.

"Umm, nope," Jeremy smiled sheepishly, placing back on his headphones and looking to his phone. Emily rolled her eyes and pulled her desk-chair out, sitting and resuming her work.

XXX

At some point, Jeremy had retired to his room to play, and about another hour later – around eight or nine pm – Emily had gone to make some coffee. Reentering her room, she finds Damon opposite her laptop screen.

"The Artform of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights," he faces the Gilbert then, who's smiling brightly at his presence as she set the mug on the cabinet by the door, and locked the door itself out of caution. "Of all the essays to write on, you choose the one where the author has your first name," Damon smirks. She shakes her head in amusement, approaching and embracing him. The fact that she was intending for this to be the norm every time they greeted one another was something he most definitely did not mind. He made no delay in returning her embrace, and noted how tightly she was holding on. "Something tells me you've had a very crappy day." She smirks yet again at his intuition, pulling back to face him.

"What gave me away?"

"I just know you that well," he winked at her, causing her to brightly grin at what he'd said – whether or not he was being serious – and pull him in for a kiss. Damon moaned in retort, kissing her back warmly.

"I could get used to this."

"Makes two of us," she grins.

She then notices what he's wearing. "You're in your pajamas," she said in amusement.

"Well, this **is** a sleep over," he smirked. Her smile faltered.

"You don't actually have to stay. I can handle one night," she stated, not wanting to guilt-trip him into doing anything for her.

"No, you can't. You can wake up in the middle of the night, bump into Uncle Gilbert in the hallway, and decide to eat him just for being mildly inconvenient." Her eyes widen, unsure whether he was being serious or not. He was, as he didn't negate it. "Besides. Why should I sleep in my own bed, when I can sleep in Emily Gilbert's, hm?" she cocked a brow, and unintentionally smirked. "The sexy," he pulled her in once more, by the waist – to her surprise, "smoking-hot, older sibling."

He took her lips between his hungrily. She moaned pleasantly, instantly heating up. Seemed they were eager to relive the previous night. Emily cupped his face and stood on her toes to better take lead. As she did so, Damon aimed for her shirt, and was in the process of pulling it up, when the door knob started shaking. They pulled apart in alert. Emily sighed in relief at the fact that she'd remembered to lock the door when she'd seen Damon.

The door then knocked, and Emily asked irritably: "Who is it?"

"It's Elena." At that, Emily rolled her eyes, and Damon relaxed, venturing to the Gilbert's bed and flopping down as said Gilbert opened the door only a small gap.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

"Is…Everything okay?" Elena asked worriedly, as Emily looked fairly suspicious.

"It's…" she sighed, giving in, "come in," she moved aside, allowing her confused sister in, then hurriedly closing and locking the door once more.

"Hello, Elena," Damon smirked. Elena scowled. She was about to ask what he was doing there when she recalled what Emily had said about him staying the night over.

"What's up?" Emily asked, approaching her.

"I…was gonna…" she subconsciously pointed a thumb at Damon, who raised a brow in turn. "Never mind. We can talk later." Emily shrugged, confused.

"Okay?"

"…Okay," Elena retorted awkwardly, glancing at Damon sideways uncomfortably, before heading for the door, which Emily made sure to lock after her.

"Well, that was…**painfully** awkward," Damon mused. Emily eyed him in dismiss at that, walking towards the empty side of the bed. "Obviously has something to do with me."

"Because everything does?" she asked sarcastically.

"Ouch," he smirked. "Because she was **pointing** at me," he widened his eyes in emphasize.

"Oh," Emily bit her lower lip, embarrassed.

Recalling then the last conversation she'd had with Elena that involved Damon, her lips formed a straight line.

Damon studied her carefully, and was easily able to piece things. "Let me guess. She found out we slept together, threw a bunch of judgmental crap at you, and you told her to suck it." Emily looked to him, half in shock, half amused.

"Pretty much **exactly** what happened."

"I'm totally psychic."

"Of course, you are," Emily humored. "She's hating on you for turning me." After saying it, Emily reconsidered the wisdom in doing so, as Damon's humor seemed to falter. "Like it wasn't **my** idea. You know. If I could've turned on my own, I would've. Then she'd find no one to blame but me," Emily annoyingly said. Damon did take that in to consideration. It didn't change the fact that, at the end of the day, her inexistent option wasn't true, and her only option to turn had still been through him.

"I can take the heat," Damon nonchalantly stated.

Emily smiled warmly at him.

He was so…She couldn't even find the word to describe it. She knew one thing though, had been feeling one thing since the start of the day, since she got back home.

Damon looked to see her smile, and eyed her curiously, sooner lost in her gaze, that bright, green-eyed, glittering gaze. "I really missed you today," she said semi-consciously, then looked away, blushing at her own words. Damon's own smile prevailed. She expected him to say something snarky, or inappropriate. Instead, he moved and hovered above her, reattracting her attention as he lightly held her face between his thumb and index finger, taking her lips into his. Emily smiled against his lips, threw her arms across his shoulders and buried her hands into his hair, heart racing.

He then pulled back an inch, grazing her lower lip with his thumb. "Missed you too, princess," he confessed in spite of his habitual-self refusing to speak so openly. He found it was worth it when she beamed at him. The nickname triggering a memory, Damon smirked. "And speaking of that adorable pet name," he mused. It took Emily a second to comprehend what he was referring to, then recalled. She rolled her eyes,

"Shut up," and lightly pushed him off. He resided back at her side. "I happened to very much enjoy playing princess with the tea-set uncle John bought me when I was six. It stuck ever since, and he wouldn't cut it out until this very day," she explained, half-heartedly annoyed.

"Aw," Damon cooed. Emily rolled her eyes again. "Can't imagine what he'd think knowing his little princess is an ass-kicking vampire now."

"Somehow, I doubt he'd be pleased," she grinned, masking her very real concern of that moment.

"If it turns sideways, we could just kill him."

"Damon!"

"What? Speaking of not being killable. I went around looking for Ric today," he started. She listened to that intently, wondering why for a moment, then recalling the two shared an immortality ring. _'My daily life these days…'_ she mocked. "He wasn't at the school, so I asked around where he lived, and no one knows, or not anyone that I've run into at least. That guy is as weird as they come."

"Why? Because he knew about vampires, trained to fight them. Remind you of someone?" she glared in emphasize. Damon smiled in amusement.

"Well, yeah. But you're hot. Hot trumps weird." Emily looked at him, half-offended. She rose from the bed and approached her still open laptop, shutting it down. "So'd you **get** anything out of John? Anything on how he knows, whether or not he'd try to stake you?"

"Would you cut it out with that!" she looked at him over her shoulder. "It isn't funny!" she closed her laptop screen and re-approached Damon.

"Then why are you laughing?" he referred to her grinning face. She sighed tiredly, pulling the blanket open and climbing under it. Damon did the same.

"I didn't get the chance to talk to him yet. I'll try again tomorrow." She leaned over and switched off the light, then lay flat on her bed.

After a few moments of silence and fake attempts to sleep, Damon made conversation. "Stefan's not too happy about you coming here."

"…For good reason…" she solemnly said. Damon faced her at the tone.

"Stefan underestimates you," he told sternly. Emily turned her face to his.

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't too," she clarified a sour truth. Damon cocked a brow.

"Maybe I'm here cause I wanna be," he challenged. Emily smirked.

"Really?" she rested on her side beside him. Damon turned on his side to face her as well.

"Do I look like the type of guy who'd do something just out of the good of his heart?" he mocked. Emily's smile dissipated.

"…Yes," she confessed. She couldn't put her finger on just one scenario where that was true at the moment, but she was certain he'd proved her right, more than once. Damon's expression went blank as well. He felt she was just saying what she wanted to believe.

"…You put too much faith in me…" he said solely. Emily's smile resurfaced at that.

"You should put more faith in yourself," she advised. The fact that he was undermining himself she could only find admirable. Damon studied her deeply for a moment, wondering where this belief of hers that he was a good person was coming from. What had he done to affirm it for her, he couldn't tell. As far as he was concerned, he **wasn't **a good person, and he had a lifetime of mistakes to back that up. He half-assumed Emily was blinded by her feelings for him, and half desperately wanted to believe, to see what she saw in him.

Emily shifted closer to him, and nuzzled her head underneath his chin. Damon wrapped his arms around her welcomingly. After several seconds lost in his train of thoughts, warmth engulfed him from her presence, her closeness. He tightened his hold on her as an unintentional show of admiration that had her eyes squeezing shut, taking him in. He buried his nose in her hair, and inhaled deeply, a scent that was like a soothing drug he let consume him, and soon after, sleep took them both.

XXXXX


	49. Chapter 49

_'This can't be happening…Oh, this can't be happening,'_ Emily stood rotted to her spot in the kitchen. It was afternoon of the day after. Around her was Jeremy, Jenna, Elena, and John. Matt had earlier called Elena, shook up in tears and sorrow,

having found his sister's cold, dead body…

Vicki…

Emily was in a heavy state of shock and denial. She couldn't hear what anyone was saying, yet was aware Elena was staring at her warily, aware that Jeremy was actually crying…

She felt guilty, and exposed…

She had no idea what to do…what to think…

She killed Vicki Donavan…

XXX

Emily excused herself quickly, and rushed away. John and Jenna were confused by this, and Jeremy was too overcome with grief.

Elena hurried after her, something that alerted John all the more.

"Emily…" she starts sympathetically, having followed her sibling to her room.

"Elena-"

"It wasn't your fault," Elena grabs her by the shoulders.

"No," Emily's tears spilled, voice not louder than a whisper as she tried to pull away and felt unnaturally weak. Her heart squeezed itself in her chest. _'It's my fault! It's my fault!'_ was all her mind was eager to shout.

"Em…" Elena uttered gloomily, pulling Emily into a hug as she herself tried to keep her tears at bay. The truth of the situation itself was seemingly lost on Elena. Her sister killed her ex-boyfriend's sister. She knew it, just couldn't believe it. Hearing it out loud, she probably wouldn't.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Jenna, coming up.

"Yeah, we're fine," Elena assured, eyeing Jenna and pulling away from Emily with an arm still around the girl who refused to look up. Jenna's brows furrowed deeply.

"Hey," she softly called, approaching Emily. Before she could even touch her, Emily pulled away and turned her back to them.

"No. Just. I wanna be alone," she pled. John approached the threshold worriedly, after having semi-comforted Jeremy down stairs.

Jenna eyed her in grand confusion. Her and Vicki were never close, she knew that as fact, so why was she having a melt-down. Jenna worriedly began to suspect that the death of a family friend was overwhelming Emily with memories of her parents. She was at a loss, had no idea how to act or what to do. She'd never had this problem with Emily, not like this.

John began to greatly worry, and started suspecting there was something he was missing.

"Jenna, come on!" yelled Jeremy impatiently.

"Right, coming!" Jenna assured, then faced Elena. "We're heading over to Matt's. You coming?"

"Yes, of course. I just…" she turned to Emily, her and Jenna. Her back was still turned to them, and at the fall of voices, she turned, registering what was last said. She plastered on a tired smile, wiping at her cheeks persistently.

"I'm fine. Go," she told.

"But…" Elena started reluctantly.

"I'll stay with her," John told. Jenna and Elena turned to him, disliking his suggestion.

But they had no other choice. Elena had to be there for Matt, and Jenna had to be there for Matt's mom, her old friend.

Eventually, they went, Elena – in spite of herself – hoping Damon would soon return to help Emily through this, half-doubting he actually could.

John remained at the threshold of Emily's room till he heard the door to the house open and shut. Before leaving, of course, Jenna gave him a piece of her mind. "Be gentle," she told sternly. John did not reply, did not need to be told what to do. More accurately, he may need it, but did not like it.

Emily was seated at the edge of her bed, lips pursed shut to control her state.

Slowly, John approached her side, and sat as well. Emily felt the bed dip, and said nothing. She wanted to tell him to go away, but she knew the minute she opened her mouth, only cries of pain would escape. Her heart physically hurt. She was sick to her stomach. Her head madly pounded; she felt she was breaking.

After a minute or so – and realizing she wouldn't speak first – John asked worriedly: "What's going on with you, princess?"

His question was met with silence,

till she finally spoke.

Perhaps it was the fact that he was of the few people who knew, perhaps it was that he was her uncle, and that she could confidently say she loved him…or perhaps it was the guilt…

"It was me…" she plainly said. John's brows furrowed, though his instincts grew very alert at that.

"What?" he asked perplexedly.

Slowly, Emily turned to face him. Her eyes, cheeks and nose were shot red. Her brows curved at a pitiful angle. Her lips deep-set in a frown.

She spoke…

"…I killed her…"

…

…John's eyes greatly widened. _'Oh no…'_ his mind pled. Again, he asked: "…What?" His tone was quiet, disbelieving. A part of Emily feared an accusation, as much as a part of her thought she deserved it. Regardless, she tried to defend herself.

"She'd turned. She was going after Elena and Jeremy!" she cried, no more unable to control it. John, who was still registering what was being said, eyed her painfully. "So I!...Ehu," she cried, unable to breath, unable to speak. "I!" John did not let her finish; did not need her to. He quickly wrapped his arms around her as if to absorb her pain, pain he found unfair and unjustified.

"…You did what you had to do…" he told firmly.

"No!"

"Yes! Emily, look at me," John urged, pulling away to face her. "Vampires. They're reckless," he started, and as he did, it dawned on Emily…

what she had become.

"They're driven by hunger. **Nothing** else-"

"That's not true," she refused. Being what she was, she couldn't have him believe that…refused to believe herself. John was displeased with what he thought was her false belief.

"I know that's what you think. I know you think Damon is-"

"It's not about Damon," she rose to her feet in rejection…

in fear.

"…Then what is it about?" John asked dismissively. Not on his own would he ever be able to guess…_'I should tell him…No! What if he hates me?...What if he __**blames**__ me?...I can't…What do I say?...'_

"…I just…I just wanna be alone…Please, uncle John…" she faced him with tired eyes. He debated giving in for a minute, and eventually, reluctantly, let her be…

XXX

Stepping into Damon's room around four pm the same day, Stefan speaks up: "They found Vicki's body." Damon, from studying the contents of his open wardrobe, whirls his head to Stefan's.

"What?!" he exclaims.

"Elena just called. They found the body, Damon," Stefan warily repeats. Damon takes a minute to process.

"Shit," he mutters irritably. "Okay. So? No problem. They can't, like, tie any of that to us," he assures, approaching Stefan, who in turn, eyes him quizzically.

"Are you forgetting that it was Emily who killed her?" he pushes. Damon freezes for a moment.

"Oh," he utters, wondering how that had completely gone over his head.

Yeah. There's a problem.

"Listen. When they get back, I'm gonna go over. Check on them. Emily's at the house right now, but she's with John, so if you plan on dropping by, I suggest you wait a while," Stefan says. Damon nods absently, the idea of going over seeming widely bad at the moment.

XXX

About an hour or so later, the Gilberts are all home, and Stefan decides to drop in on Elena, make sure she was okay. He told Damon so, and the latter went off to retrieve a blood bag. "Give it to Emily," he said. Stefan furrowed his brows at him and it.

"What are you doing, Damon?" he asked discouragingly. Damon was perplexed for a moment, before he rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Have **some** self-control. It's just a bag, man," he urged. Now it was Stefan's turn to be confused.

"What? No," Stefan snatched the bag from him to show it was not the problem. "I mean, why aren't you giving her this yourself?" he questioned. Damon's expression went blank, then sour. His gaze fell to the ground as he spoke:

"Yeah, I don't think I'm someone she wants to see right now," he bitterly told. Stefan considered that as he studied Damon. With acknowledgment, Stefan said:

"You think she'll blame you, cause you turned Vicki."

"Just give her the bag," Damon tells, irritated – more at himself, turning to walk away.

"Damon, come on," Stefan followed after him persistently. Damon sighed tensely, heading for the stairs once more. "Do you know what kind of state she's in right now? That was her **first** kill, and it wasn't just anyone. She'd known the Donovans since she was a kid!" Damon's – as he slowly climbed the steps –tension escalated with every word Stefan spoke. "She needs you, Damon!"

Damon paused. _'Damn it,'_ he cursed the whole situation.

He wanted to be there for her; he'd go right now, but **should** he?

Did she even want him there?

To explain why he thought not to Stefan seemed hopeless, despite the fact that everything Stefan had said prior to the 'she needs you part,' were all the reasons he refused to go.

He faced his younger brother, plastering on a placid mask.

"Look, I didn't say I **wasn't** going," he stressed. "Just…not right now."

His answer did not entirely satisfy Stefan, but the younger Salvatore knew better than to pressure him.

XXX

"Are you sure you're okay?" said Elena to Emily in her room a while after their return from Matt's.

"Yes. I'm fine," Emily replied, seated on her bed. The former had just informed her of almost everything that had gone down at Matt's, being very careful with her words so as not to pressure Emily.

"You know, you can talk to me, right?" Elena softly encouraged.

"Yes, I know," Emily smiled half-heartedly, nodding. Elena exhaled tiredly.

"I know what you must be thinking-"

"No, Elena. You really don't," the latter suddenly snapped, then released a heavy breath. "I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to…" she sighed once more. Elena eyed her sympathetically. "Look, you should get some rest. I'm okay, really. I just need to be alone right now," she told confidently.

Elena wanted greatly to push. She'd come to realize that Emily rarely ever confided in her, and it bothered her deeply, the fact that she wasn't given the chance to comfort Emily as Emily often did for her, the fact that it always felt like there was nothing Elena herself could say to persuade or convince her sister of anything.

Oh, she wanted to push, but…

the tired, **exhausted** look Emily wore made her think perhaps it wasn't the best time.

She wouldn't drop this though, soon enough, they'd have to discuss it.

XXX

It wasn't long before Stefan was in Elena's room, using the window as a way through considering the presence of John Gilbert, someone who surely, if attempted to deal with, would cause a scene, one Stefan knew Elena didn't need right now.

She told him of everything that had happened, of her concerns, and what she thought was going on with Emily.

Stefan decided he'd try and talk to her himself.

When her window knocked, Emily felt a great sense of relief, thinking it was Damon, but at the pull of the curtain, the pit in her stomach resurfaced.

Regardless, she opened it, allowing the other Salvatore entrance.

The two weeks she'd spent with both brothers had, besides accelerating things between her and Damon, done surprisingly little to her relationship with Stefan.

Stefan was often by himself most of the time, or at school, or with Elena. Sometimes it felt he wasn't even there at all. Nevertheless, there were two things that remained constant between him and Emily: respect and admiration. With so, one could even call them friends. They were certainly prepared to act as ones to one another, should the need arise.

The current situation definitely called for it.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she retorted, re-approaching her bed. "What's up?" she asked politely. Something told her she already knew the answer.

"I just. Thought we should talk," he says. _'And there it is,' _Emily sighs heavily.

"Look, Stefan, I really don't thi-"

"Damon said I should give you this," the mention of Damon shut her up, and she turned to find a blood bag in Stefan's hand. She eyed the bag greedily, and took it. She wanted to ask where he was, but refrained for some reason. Nevertheless, Stefan mentioned it, as a minor change of topic so she wouldn't push him away.

"He said he'd come over…He sort of…Blames himself," he speaks directly, sitting across Emily on the bed. She furrowed her brows, before quickly acknowledging why that must be. She put the bag aside, too distracted now to give it attention.

"What for?" she asked still, as though both of them didn't already know. Her tone suggested she did, and that's why Stefan said:

"You know why…" _'Yeah…I do…'_ her mind muttered gloomily.

"…It's stupid…You'd think I'd blame him too," she confesses, speaking before fully thinking her words through. Stefan listens intently. "But I don't…" _'He turned Vicki…He forced my hand…But was it really his fault?'_

"…You blame yourself more…" Stefan states, as though replying to her thoughts. She shakes her head in disappointment. _'I think…There's something more…now…'_

"Maybe…I just…It's really ironic," she chuckles in cold sarcasm. "Look at what I am now!" she faces him abruptly, wild eyes. Stefan never wanted this for Emily,

but it was too late now.

"You know, in this strange, ridiculous sense, it feels like…I'd killed…one of my own," she furrows her brows. "Like…I wish I could've…saved her…" Stefan understands where she's coming from, even admires how she's looking at it. But her point of view would not help her feel any less guilty, and that was what he was here to fix.

"But you didn't, instead, you saved your siblings, who were in very real danger," he stressed…She gulped…

"But, technically…I'm a danger to them too, right?" she quietly asked. Stefan kept his thoughts about that to himself, and what followed he meant as well:

"No. Because you listened. You had the will to learn, Emily…Vicki didn't…She was rash, and reckless-"

"She didn't deserve to die," Emily insisted stubbornly, water filling her dry eyes. Stefan frowned.

"Maybe not…" She faced him at that, as if wanting to hear at least a single person confess she was to blame indeed. "But the way I see it, in that moment…It was her or them…"

"…" Emily was silent to that. She couldn't fully accept it, despite knowing it was true.

Silence followed afterwards. Stefan did not move, simply remained by her side, aware she needed someone, perhaps not to talk to, but a presence, one she did not feel she was tasked to reassure about how she was, like her sister.

Emily replayed their conversation in her head, by far the most productive one regarding the situation…

It dawned on Emily then that perhaps Stefan was speaking from experience, and she found the question rolling off her tongue before she could stop it: "…What was your…first…?" The minute she asked it, she regretted it, feeling like it wasn't her place to inquire. Just as reluctantly, Stefan debated answering.

But he knew she needed to hear this, from, as she put it: 'one of her own,' as well as from someone who'd committed the same horrendous act.

And he trusted her, so he confessed: "…My father." Emily abruptly faced him at that, shocked. "He was actually the one to kill me and Damon," he states.

"What?!" Emily exclaims, completely taken aback. Stefan smiled disdainfully at the horrid memory.

"We were trying to save Katherine…He saw us as traitors, and…ended us." Emily was speechless to that for a full twenty seconds.

"That's…**horrible**!" she exclaimed, features overcome with disgust, anger, and pity. _'Oh, Damon…'_ her mind called out.

"Yeah, it was," Stefan resumed, snapping her out of it. "But not as horrible as…what **I** did…" Emily quieted once more at that, and listened intently. "I…went to find him…after…me and Damon woke up…Katherine had secretly fed us her blood, should anything happen to us," the mention of Katherine pricked Emily in the chest. "Me and Damon weren't planning on completing the transition…" This was news to her. "So, I went to say goodbye to father…" Stefan looks away, unable to face her – anyone – as he told this part. "That's when I found out it was him who'd killed us…" his fist clenched from heavy tension. "Even after I told him that we planned to die…he tried to…stake me…" Emily cannot begin to express how hearing that made her feel.

Shocked was a grand understatement.

It was so horrible, she wanted to tell him to stop, but it also seemed like he needed to tell someone, and she wondered if he ever had before, wondered if Damon even knew.

This was a story Stefan never wanted to recite, but Emily needed to hear it, needed to hear what certain people were forced to do.

"I pushed him; I didn't know how strong I'd gotten. He, uh, got hurt, bad," he told, tone quick, before he slowed down. "…He was bleeding…You…get what happens next…" Stefan faces her alas, then away once more. "You think I didn't wish someone had managed to finish me off before I…Took his life?…"

"But he tried to kill you," Emily affirms sternly. Stefan looks to her pointedly.

"Exactly."

…She gets it then.

She understands.

"I'm not saying it made what I did okay. It felt **so** bad, I turned off my humanity," he resumes.

"You what?" she asked perplexedly. Stefan realized she didn't know what that meant, and whished he hadn't mentioned it at all. Now he had to explain.

"As vampire, we have the option to…turn off our emotions…Become remorseless…" Emily's eyes widen at that. "It's a choice no vampire should ever make. You'd go on killing sprees, and never feel a drop of guilt. Worst of all, if you choose to turn it back on, you'll feel pain for **every** victim you've ever killed, **every** mistake you'd made. I know you; you'd never do that," he added intentionally. For a minute, Emily seemed to forget that she was indeed a vampire, that said option was hers as well. She mulled it over, and without a doubt her mind sharply rejected it. _'I'd never do that,' _it reaffirmed.

"Anyways. What I'm trying to say is," Stefan resumed, hoping deeply that his little slip with words was something he'd – or she – never have to face the consequence of. "…It's okay to feel guilty, whether or not you had a choice. Feeling guilty, means you care, and caring is better than being ruthless."

Emily thinks this through with great attention.

Eventually, she gave a short nod, then faced him.

She smiled. "Thank you, Stefan…For…telling me. I know, it can't have been easy, and I really appreciate it," she says. Stefan smiled genuinely.

"Of course. We're friends, Emily," he liked to affirm, hoping this thin blanket of persistent awkwardness between the two be shed. "We look out for each other." Her smile brightens.

Stefan then frowns. "Hey, listen. Can you-"

"Not tell Elena?" she says knowingly. Stefan quiets, embarrassed, confirming her guess. "It's okay, I get it. You can tell her on your own time. I won't say a word," she promises. Stefan nods at her in gratitude.

He then makes his way to leave.

XXXXX


	50. Chapter 50

Hours passed, and Damon never came.

He just couldn't bring himself to, couldn't face her should she eye him accusingly. Things were finally moving for them, and then this happens, threatening to take them back to square one. He was more afraid to lose her than he thought he'd be, because it wasn't just the jeopardy of a relationship, but a friendship as well, a fact he hadn't pieced together yet.

All he knew was that he didn't want to lose the talking, the laughing, flirting, or even the just being in each other's company, to end.

He continued to mock himself, both for desiring such simple things from life, and the fact that he was just delaying the inevitable, but apparently, procrastinating was a thing he was good at. Downing that bourbon bottle did very little to help.

And she? She continued to wait. Stefan said he'd come.

He also said he blamed himself.

Was there a good chance he wasn't coming at all?

_'This is ridiculous,' _she thought. _'…You know what?'_ Emily suddenly got up. With rush and very little plot, she pocketed her phone, approached her window, opened it, hesitantly looked back, before heading out. She closed the window, stood on the steep slope of the roof tiles, then jumped down. Steady on both feet, Emily looked back once more. Only the living room was lit, and she wasn't sure who was there; it was late.

She didn't care.

XXX

He heard keys messing with the front door, and furrowed his brows. _'Stefan,'_ he assumed. Maybe he was heading out. Then he heard footsteps on the staircase, and started to grow suspicious. _'Uh, oh,'_ it was Emily, he guessed. _'Shit.'_ From the chair near the fireplace, Damon looked over his shoulder as the door to his bedroom opened.

_'Yep.'_

"Hey," he softly greeted, rising.

"Hey?" she retorted, raising a brow. Damon winced. Emily sighed tiredly.

"Look, I was gonna-"

"Shhh," she approached him, and wrapped her arms around his waist, putting the side of her face to his chest.

Damon felt his heart skip a beat. It certainly wasn't what he was expecting, yet without a second's waste though, he embraced her.

Emily felt almost every muscle in her body relax. She sighed heavily in relief. She'd been waiting to get that hug all day, and she couldn't tell why – and didn't care enough to wonder – it was only in his arms she waited to relax. "That bad, huh?" he asked, unable to shake away the guilt he was feeling for avoiding her all day. She pulls back and looks up at him, gaze faltering.

"I don't think it'll be worse than tomorrow," she says. Damon eyes her painfully.

"The funeral."

"Yep," she nods.

"…Where were you all day?" she asked despite knowing, and knowing why. Damon broke eye-contact, that guilt resurfacing.

"I didn't exactly think you'd be too eager to see me," he confessed with a sour smirk. She takes this in, takes in the way he looked saying it. She couldn't bring herself to be mad at him. He assumed she would reject his presence, for good reason, a reason her sane senses themselves unsanefully seemed to reject.

"Well, next time, don't think," she smirked light-heartedly to ease his evident anxiety. "You just show up, and be like 'here I am, whether you like it or not.'" Damon smiles at that. "You know? So what if I yell at you? You're man enough to take it," she slides her hands up his chest, and Damon declines his head. She cups his face and places her forehead to his. His eyes are soft, and sad. She captures his gaze intensely. "I **don't** blame you," she firmly states.

Damon studies her level of honesty. She seemed sincere, which he apparently couldn't accept. The pained look on his face explained this to Emily. "You turned me too," she explains. Damon eyes her curiously at bringing that up. "I didn't go around attacking people…" reluctantly, and only for his sake, she said the following: "Vicki made her own decisions…" her statement did not assist in shielding her from her own self-conscious guilt in Vicki's demise. "And I made mine, and whether or not you played a fault in them, it doesn't matter, because I **don't** blame you." Damon looked as if he was finding the oddest of riddles in her words.

"…Why not?" he asked perplexedly. Emily shakes her head, gaze faltering to his lips as though they held the answer. She looked to his eyes again.

"I just don't." It was true her reasoning was stupid, even to herself, especially since she suspected that reason was merely because she felt for him.

Damon shakes his head, refusing this. He lightly grasps her wrists, brushing them with his thumbs in reluctance of letting go, before putting down his hands and away. He takes a few steps back, and turns. "Damon," she calls for his attention, aware what he was thinking.

Was she?

He shakes his head again.

_'Fuck, I really don't deserve you…'_ his mind cruelly pointed out. He hated hearing it, admitting it. He always knew; she was too good for him. If he could see it, could she not? How can she just overlook what he does, what he's done?! How can she **not** blame him?

"What…What is it…you **see** in me?" his question was unintentional, or the wording was not what he was hoping. But it was out; he'd said it, and she'd heard it.

Of all the things she thought he'd say, that was not it. At least she understood what his question meant. She felt an anger ignite in her chest. She approached him with determined footsteps and faced him. "You have to stop doing that," she sternly told, only further confusing him. "You have to **stop** thinking you're the **bad **guy!"

His eyes widen wildly. "But I am!" he insisted, causing her eyes to widen as well. For some reason, she didn't fully expect for her assumption to be true. _'Is that really how you see yourself?'_ she wondered sorrowfully.

"**No**, you're **not**," she asserted.

"**Yes**, I **am**," he himself wasn't expecting he'd react this way, be having this conversation, not this way at least. Whenever he'd confess to someone he was no good, he usually did it out of stubbornness, or even pride. All he could feel then was self-loathing, like he suddenly hated being – as he put – the bad guy. To him, it was fact. She had to see it.

Was he aware of the consequence, should she begin to agree with him?...

"You don't **know** me, Emily. You don't **know** the kind of person I **am**, the kind of things I've **done**," he insisted regardless, greatly worked up. They both were, hearts racing and adrenaline pumping through their veins, as if their debate was hostile territory.

"But you don't **get** it," she snapped back. "I **do** know. I **know** you've killed people. I **know** you've hurt people. I **know** the body count over a **hundred** and seventy years is **bizarre**," _'if you know, then what are you doing?' _her mind scolded, "but I just…**don't. Care**," she shamelessly confessed.

"How can you **not** care?!" he exclaimed madly.

"Because, I **see** the way you look at me!" he furrows his brows, not expecting **that**. To be honest, neither was she, but it was the first thought to come to mind. She didn't back down. "I **know** you care about me," he gulps, "and as stupid, and **wrong** as it is, it makes it **okay**! It makes it okay, because, believe it or not, **being** with you, is the only place I feel **safe**. Being with you, is…" she sighs from thick tension, unable to find the right words to explain just how he made her feel. There seemed to be no one word.

Damon eyed her strangely, as if he was doubting she was real. For some reason, what she was saying was so, so hard to grasp, to understand.

As for her, all she could register was pure emotional exhaustion, since the day had started. It was exactly why she'd come to him; to escape it. This was not turning out as she'd expected.

She looks at him. She was not ashamed to admit it, seemed she never felt so around him. "…I'm too tired to fight," she says in plea. Damon's attention breaks through the fog her previous words had built up, and picked up on what she'd just said. _'Of course you are,_' his mind scolded him for being insensitive about that. He nods at her ethically, then followed instinct and approached her. He took her into his arms again, wanting to apologize for starting something he was suddenly aware she most certainly didn't need.

He felt her relax in his arms, and would be damned to upset her again. He felt this protective surge towards, and half-consciously acted on it. "Come on. You're staying here tonight," he says, guiding her to the bed. The idea put a soft smile on her face.

It may have been a single day back home, but she found she'd missed his company, or, more accurately, being in a place where he was around twenty-four-seven. "I don't care if your uncle comes knocking again. I'll kill him if I have to," he smirks, only half-joking. She chuckles in amusement, also aware he was **half**-joking.

_'What? He can't actually die,'_ her mind agreed.

They lay on the bed in silence. Damon was going over their conversation in his head. 'I **know** you care about me.' '**being** with you, is the only place I feel **safe**.' Why was that so hard to believe, when he could easily admit that he would in fact do plenty to keep her safe? Was that the same as caring about her? Was it that she thought he cared about her that made her feel safe around him? Did he actually care about her? He wanted to say yes, but why was that also hard? He found he was playing back memories of scenarios when he thought he may have showed a sense of care or protectiveness over her, and he discovered plenty. How many times had he come to her rescue without a hint of hesitation? The very first; that incident with the car accident. Till that day, he had trouble figuring out why he gave a damn. He recalled just the day after, when she'd called and said there was a vampire in her house. Or the other time he was with her, just hanging out, and Anna popped up. _'Hold that thought,'_ he paused. Hanging out? Since when was he the type to hang out with a woman he wasn't intending to sleep with? He recalled why he was there in the first place. It wasn't just to 'hang out.' Fresh out of his no-more-Katherine zone, he needed her. But it was the fact that he was comfortable enough to choose her, that he was willing to be vulnerable around her. Himself was becoming a stranger to him.

Or the key to this confused dilemma, was Emily herself…

He looked at her,

studied her as she was lost in thought, eyes fixed on the ceiling in a daze.

Maybe he shouldn't be asking what she saw in him, but what he saw in her…He found it logical, as she seemed to be the reason he – time and again – acted out of character.

Was it out of character, or was she bringing out the person he'd buried deep beneath years and years?

"…I told uncle John," she suddenly spoke up. It took Damon a second to halt his very long train of thoughts.

"What?" he asked perplexedly. She faced him then, a panicked look in her eyes. _'What was I thinking?!'_ she thought frantically. Damon's eyes suddenly widened. "…You told him **what**?" he asked sternly, causing Emily to wince guiltily. He first assumed she'd told the man what she'd become, but what she said was not in any way **better**.

"…That I…was the one to…" she deeply frowned, and swallowed the lump in her throat, pushing past her aching chest to speak. "Kill…Vicki…" Damon's eyes further widened. He poised himself up on an elbow and looked down at her in bewilderment.

"**What**?! Why would you do that?!" he asked angrily, in confusion.

"I just…Didn't think it was a big deal," she defended. _'Shit, that came out wrong,'_ she braced herself for what was to come.

"Not a big deal?!" Damon exclaimed. _'There it is,'_ she winced again. "Emily!" Damon sat up. "You don't go around telling people who you did and did not **kill**!" She sat up as well, refusing to panic about this.

"He's my uncle, Damon! Not **people**!" he rolled his eyes at that. "Besides. He knows about this stuff; I figured he'd understand."

"And did he?!"

"**Yes**. He told me I did what I had to, not that it made a difference," she shook her head. Damon sighed irritably, but was still understanding to her situation. He imagined the state she was in. It probably took just the presence of a single person supernaturally aware for her to confess what she'd done. She wasn't like him; couldn't keep this kind of stuff in. Stuff being murder, or other crimes she was responsible for.

"Emily. Just. You keep this kinda stuff to yourself," he spoke as though explaining to a child. "You **just** found out your uncle knows about the supernatural," he widens his eyes in cold humor, "and has been **keeping** it a secret for who knows **how** long, you can't put so much trust in him," he warns. Emily exhales. _'Damn it, he's right…'_

"I get it…" she nods, looking away in shame. Damon studied her for a moment to be sure of that.

"Okay…Good," he said, satisfied, as he fell back on the bed. She stayed as she was, sitting up.

Another incident crossed her thoughts. This one, she greatly debated speaking of, especially to him. AS if he could tell, Damon asked: "What?" His tone made it clear he was wary of what else she'd had to say; what else she'd done. She looked to him, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Can I ask you something?" she carefully inquired. Damon furrowed his brows at her caution.

"What else did you do?" he interrogated. She rolled her eyes.

"Nothing. Just…Stefan dropped by earlier, and…" At least the mention of Stefan somewhat put him at ease.

"And?" he encouraged.

"He, um, told me about," she cleared her throat nervously, suddenly realizing maybe Damon **didn't** know. She twisted the question. "Do you, um, know how your father died?" she asked.

Alas, Damon understands her need for caution.

"You mean that Stefan killed him," he states. Her eyes widen slightly at how casually he said it.

"So you **do** know," she says.

"Yeah, what brought this up?" he asked quizzically, his forearm placed to his forehead.

"He…was telling me about his first kill. I asked him."

"Oh." _'Well, that's grim,'_ he thought sarcastically. "And?"

"I just," she lied back beside him, put her hand to his chest and looked to his eyes intently. Damon eyes her curiously, not unpleased the feel of her palm through the cloth of his shirt. "Wanted to know how you…felt about that," she finished. Damon considered it.

"Hmm. How I felt about it. Well, I'd say it was good riddance," he confesses.

"Damon!" she scolds, disbelieving.

"What?! He **did** kill us. Stefan told you that, right?" Emily frowned.

"…Yeah."

"Yeah, so, what do you want me to say? I'm sorry the guy who killed his own sons got killed by one? Well, I'm not. He was never much of a dad anyways. If anything, I'm **glad** he died the way he did, at the hands of the thing he hates most." Emily furrowed her brows and grimaced.

"…Was he really that bad?" she asked, unable to fathom why Damon held so much hatred towards his own father.

"You know, one time, he thought one of us stole some cash off him. He kept going around making threats, and he started coming at Stefan, so I told him I did it. You know what he did? Lit a cigarette and put it to my hand. How's that for bad?"

"My god, that's terrible!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yeah. Well. He's dead, and so am I," Damon brushes off. Emily studies him for a moment. The things she was learning about him were answering a question she wondered at before, before getting this close to him, back when she was trying to understand why he was often cruel or cold, and she wondered whether it was by choice, or something that molded him through dark. She got her answer, it seemed. His life was filled with toxic people.

"Enough with the pity eyes. You're killing me, Gilbert," he told irritably.

"I'm not pitying you, Damon. I'm…admiring you," she smirks. He cocks a brow.

"What. Daddy issues turn you on?" She laughs out at that, a sound that forces a smile to his lips.

"No…The fact that you took the blame," her lips shaped a soft smile. "…so he wouldn't hurt Stefan," she elaborates. Damon's eyes soften as well, and the memory resurfaced, one of a younger, terrified Stefan.

"You always been such a tough ass?" she mused, bringing her hand to the side of his face and inching closer. She placed her lips to his, causing his eyes to slide shut. He felt relief seep through his body as she kissed him gently. He scolded himself for not being there for her earlier, as though he'd forgotten just how good her company felt, how calm she made him. He owed her big time.

She pulled away and smiled at him with those mesmerizing cat-green eyes. Damon brushed her cheek with his knuckles. _'You're gorgeous,' _he couldn't help thinking, and he didn't mean it in just the physical sense apparently, cause that wouldn't explain his fast-racing heart. She fixed her head on his chest, just under his chin, and Damon wrapped his arm around her, rubbing up and down her shoulder soothingly. His free hand he placed atop hers that was still on his chest. He squeezed it tightly, as though committing a silent promise of nothing in particular, but it was enough to add to the air of security he engulfed her with.

They spoke no more, and let sleep work its charm.

XXXXX


	51. Chapter 51

"What are you thinking?" Damon asked driving her to the burial early the next morning. She'd decided to skip the memorial, for obvious reasons. The official story was that she was feeling very unwell, but to Damon, Stefan, John and Elena, the truth was clear. All but Elena were understanding of her decision to stay behind. The younger Gilbert insisted Emily ought to be there for Matt, something Emily had to impatiently, and bluntly reply to with a sharp reminder that she'd **killed** Matt's sister. Thankfully, Jenna had interrupted them, and the topic switched to Emily's 'unwellness.'

Still, she **did** feel a certain obligation to attend the burial, or at the very least, send her condolences to Matt. "I'm thinking he'll see right through me," she said nervously, gazing out the window. She'd stopped clenching at the edge of her black, knee-length dress, pulling at her lip with her other hand, and tapping her foot when Damon had spoken up and interrupted her grim thoughts. He gives her words a dismissive look.

"He won't. As long as you don't say anything, like you did with John," he states in disapproval. Emily exhales at that.

"I told you, I didn't expect him to do anything," _'Liar. You just couldn't keep your mouth shut,'_ her mind stated. She shut **it** up, and resumed: "He's my uncle," she affirms. Damon rolled his eyes. For someone whose father would have murdered him – and did **try** to murder Stefan – for being what he was, 'family,' didn't mean 'trust' to Damon.

"We're not going through this again. Just promise me you won't tell anyone **else**, Emily," he insisted sternly.

"Alright!" she breathed irritably.

"Good," Damon smirked.

A few short minutes later, they arrive.

XXX

Her heels clanked against the asphalt road loudly in her ear. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her head was feather-light. _'Come on. You can do this,'_ her mind encouraged. Five feet from him, she called out: "Matt," approaching him by his car. People were starting to fan out and quietly take their leave, so the crowd at the gravesite was thinning. Matt turns, and his brows furrow slightly at Emily's unexpected appearance. The minute he lay eyes on her, Emily felt an actual crack in her form. It took everything in her not to explode in tears. She swallowed the thick lump in her throat and clenched her fists painfully to compose herself.

"Emily. Hey," Matt greets in a tired tone. "Elena told me you weren't feeling well." His statement snaps her out of it somewhat. She shook her head, plastering on a smile.

"I had to come," she said, well aware she had no actual right to be there, of all people. _'God,'_ she prayed. _'This is too much…'_

Damon is at his car, parked far off, and listening in should she decide to shout aloud that it was her doing. He still partly blames himself, knowing if he'd just kept to himself, he wouldn't be driving her to anyone's funeral. At the same time, he hated the guilt, wanted it gone, so he affirmed the fact for himself that what was done, was done.

"Thanks," Matt retorted sincerely. Indeed, the only words that seemed to want to break through her teeth were just a confession, so instead and quickly, she pulled the broken Donovan into her arms. Damon looked away for some reason, and from afar, Caroline points out to Elena that Emily had arrived.

Matt is a bit taken aback by Emily's gesture. "I'm so sorry, Matt," Matt hears her voice crack, and she appeared to be crying heartedly, something Damon most certainly does not wish to hear. Trying not to re-affirm blame on himself was very hard when she was falling apart this way, mere feet away.

Matt was confused with Emily's state, but her gesture also succeeded in beckoning stubborn tears from his eyes he'd been trying to keep away all day. "I never wanted this for you," she whispered hoarsely. Matt can no longer keep it together. He hugs her tightly, needingly, and cries heartedly into her shoulder. She shuts her eyes at his pain and hers, rubbing his head in an attempt to calm him.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" Stefan interrupts Damon's eavesdropping.

"What does it look like?" he retorts. The former had attended the whole funeral, being Matt's classmate, and for Elena's sake as well.

"How has she been holding up?" Stefan asks. Considering the fact that he hadn't asked whether or not Damon went to her last night meant he knew she'd come instead. Damon correctly assumed he was home when she did.

"She's about a second close from telling the whole town it was her," Damon says, watching Emily walk back towards them. Stefan looks to him gravely.

"You serious?"

"No, she's not dumb," he hoped. "Told her uncle though."

"Why?" Stefan asked, wary and surprised.

"Not a clue," Damon shortly replied to avoid explaining.

Damon watched as Emily struggled to compose herself, walking back to them. She had a hand to her chest, and was eyeing around wildly, as if afraid someone would see her. He was close to stomping forward and retrieving her himself, when she stops and turns to someone who's calling her name.

Suddenly realizing who it was, Damon storms forward. "Hey," Stefan calls weirdly, confused.

"Alec. Hey," Emily greets, for some reason confused to see him, all suited up.

"Hey. Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, suggesting to her that she looked like a complete and utter mess. She smiled forcefully.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she assured. As this was a funeral, and she was dressed for it, Alec could only assume why she was this way.

"I'm, uh, really sorry, about Vicki," he says. Emily's deep frown returns, chest crushing.

"Me too," she said quietly. _'God, it was me!'_ she winced, about to break down once more, when:

"Hello, there!" Damon interrupts. Emily jumps at his intrusion, but felt an enormous wave of relief wash over her, as if he'd hid her under an invisibility cloak, and kept her from exposure.

Alec furrows his brows at Damon, a stranger to him. "Um, hi," he greets back awkwardly. Alec's voice seemed to point out a very new issue to Emily.

Damon. And Alec…_'Uh, oh.'_

Damon put his hand out. "Damon. Salvatore," he says. Alec politely shook his hand, and Damon purposely added pressure. In retort, Alec did the same, which Damon thought was cute considering he was able to crush his hand should he please. "And you must be the ex," he smirks mad-like. Emily glares pointedly at Damon for being blunt. He was sure her eyes were on him in scolding, and did not give her the advantage. Damon's bitter tone mixed with what he'd said clued Alec in on who this might be.

"And **you** must be Mr. Complicated," he smiles disdainfully, breaking the hand-shake.

"Ho, ho. So, you've heard of me," Damon smirks as though in victory, glancing at Emily, who then clears her throat for their attention.

"Okay, well. This has been. Pleasant," _'Certainly not the word for it,'_ "but we should get going, right?" she grabs Damon's upper arm, glaring at him still. He merely smirked at her in taunting. Alec, who was studying the 'competition,' tried to figure out in what way this guy was better, enough for Emily to reject what great few months they'd spent together. _'Well. He's a looker. I doubt that's the reason though. She's not like that,'_ he determined.

He looked to Emily then, and noted she was pulling at this Damon, trying to leave. "Uh, actually," he called. They looked to him, Damon's expression turning to one of certain hostility. Alec notices, and started to suspect that Emily may have told him about what had happened at the Grill. It was actually what he wanted to talk to her about. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about," he says.

"Oh," Emily utters, not expecting it. _'Of all the possible times,'_ her mind annoyingly wonders. She was too attentive for Damon's possibly rash reactions.

"Oh, well. What is it, Alec? Sounds important," Damon feigned seriousness. Emily gave him an unamused look. Alec would greatly like **not** to speak in front of this Damon about his intended topic.

"Hey, Alec," Elena steps up. Alec turns, and smiles at her brightly. She gives him a warm hug that he returns, and Emily takes a minute to mouth Damon off. He just shrugs at her innocently. He caught the fast smirk on her lips before she brushed it off. She was enjoying this, that he was acting like the jealous boyfriend, and he was enjoying tormenting dear Alec here.

"It's really good to see you," says Elena.

"You too," Alec retorts, grinning warmly at her.

"We'll be seeing more of you, right?" she asked. Damon scowled at that. Emily looked to see just that reaction.

"Yeah, I'd love to, but I'm actually leaving early tomorrow. Going back to New York," he says.

"Aw, really?" Damon pouts. Emily nudges his arm with her elbow. He retorts by placing that arm around her waist. She refrains from rolling her eyes. _'Might as well piss on me to mark your territory, Damon,'_ she thinks. Alec eyes Damon's gesture disdainfully. He decided he did **not** like Damon.

"Hey, Damon," Elena called. He looked to her with very little interest. "I think Stefan wanted to talk to you by the car. Says it's urgent." At the car and listening in, Stefan smirks at Elena's attempt to rescue Emily from further embarrassment.

"Really?" Damon squints his eyes at her.

"Yeah," she nods ethically. Emily glances at her gratefully. Damon looks back, and does indeed see Stefan gesturing at him to come over. He clenches his jaw irritably. "Let's go," Elena beckons, approaching Damon and placing a hand on his shoulder to guide him forward. Damon refrains from shrugging off the fake Katherine's hand. Reluctantly, he follows, not before giving Alec one last word.

"It was lovely meeting you, Alec," he lies.

"You too," Alec lies as well.

Finally, they leave.

Emily faces Alec in slight relief, and smiles apologetically. "I'm. Sorry about that," she winces, and was half-aware Damon was probably listening in.

"It's, uh, it's fine," he grins, thinking back on it as a joke. It kind of was.

"You done tormenting the poor kid, Damon?" Stefan asks as the two approach him, and Elena takes to his side.

"I was just getting started," he retorts, leaning back against the car and listening in on the conversation.

"Not very classy, Damon," Elena points out. Damon eyes her irritably.

"This is your opinion," he brings out his index finger, points to his ear, then uses his other finger and mock-brings it out of the other ear, "and there it goes," he says. Elena gives him an unamused look. "Now shush. Trying to listen," he says. Elena scoffs at that as Stefan rolls his eyes.

"He's, uh, really something, huh?" Alec says. Emily chuckles lightly.

"Yeah…" Well aware how Damon was coming off, Emily felt the need to defend him, as she was aware he wouldn't do so for himself. He wouldn't be very pleased with what she was about to say about him, even if she thought it was true. "But he's a sweetheart once you get to know him." Indeed, Damon cocks a brow at that, "and he cares about me," she smiles sincerely, her heart pinching at her own words.

It was something she subconsciously didn't doubt, without even any specific incidents in mind to back it up. She just knew.

Alec considers this, and nods. "Well. I, hope he makes you happy…You deserve to be," he smiles at her sincerely. Even if he was upset they weren't given a second chance, he still wanted well for Emily.

Damon crosses his arms irritably at Alec's suggestive tone, and Emily merely smiles back at Alec. The way he was looking at her was something she was hoping Damon couldn't see, also having her forget what he'd said altogether. There was an air of familiarity between her and Alec, one she appreciated, missed even.

But what was there before, the deep passion and affection.

It was simply gone, mere memories of the past.

That deep, burning affection, she was feeling just then, a longing to be near **Damon, even** then. She was in a fragile state, with the funeral, with what she now was; she needed him, and whether or not she did, she knew she **wanted** to be with him too.

"Listen, about what happened at the Grill," Alec resumes, snapping her out of it. He rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. Emily registers what he'd said, heart jumping at the inappropriate memory. She shakes her head assuringly.

"It's okay. No harm done," _'that's an understatement,' _her mind pointed out, considering the huge argument her and Damon had had that very same night.

…Then again, it did end in sex. She refrained from smirking at that, feeling a second's wave of vibration through her body.

"Are you done?" Stefan asked Damon, who raised a hand for him to quiet. Stefan rolled his eyes again. "Well, I'm in the car," he states. Damon nods carelessly. Elena had gone off earlier.

"If I'd known you were-" Alec spoke, but Emily cut him off.

"I know. It's my fault. I wasn't. Clear," she told, not that it was true. She wasn't clear, because things between her and Damon **were** indeed unclear.

"Still. Can't just walk back into town and expect to swoop you off your feet," he smirks.

"Nope," Damon smirks to himself, replying unheard to the conversation.

Emily considered Alec's words. She eyed him sympathetically, recalling what he'd said about not having been able to connect with anyone since they'd broken up. _'It doesn't mean you don't mean something to me.' _"…I **am** glad you came back," she told regardless.

"Oh, come on," Damon mocked irritably.

"It was good to see you again," she spoke genuinely.

"…It was good to see you too, Emily," Alec smiled warmly, appreciating the way they were leaving things.

"Bye, bye, now," Damon urged, smirking sarcastically. "Ugh, really," he grimaces as she and Alec hug goodbye.

He sees her briefly convers with Jenna and Jeremy. They make plans to go home together, and so she makes her way to tell Damon.

"I'm, uh, going-"

"Yeah. I heard," he cuts off, still a little green from the whole deal with Alec. Emily gives him a look.

She shakes her head and smirks in amusement, a sight the removes Damon's embedded frown. "Come here," she takes him by the collar and kisses him deeply, not giving attention to the fact that they were in public, not even to the fact that this was a funeral.

Apparently, Damon was more important to her.

"Mm," he moans against her lips, relaxing. He put his hands to her waist and brought her closer. He knew she was just trying to reassure, a way of stating that she still chooses him. It annoyed him that she treating him like he was insecure, yet couldn't really argue with her lips to his this way.

"Emily!" John calls from his car. She and Damon pull apart reluctantly. They both needed that kiss, and the interruption was unappreciated. She looks back and sees John beckoning her to the car impatiently.

"I gotta go," she says irritably to Damon, then faces him. He nods understandingly. She goes to move, his heart jumps, and he takes her by the wrist. She stops and eyes him expectantly as he debates speaking his mind.

There was something he had to say, something he thought of saying just the night before. Something important. It didn't seem to matter how or why, just that it was, and that he thought she needed to hear it.

"…I **do** care about you…you know," he says.

Emily's gaze softens on him. Her heart beats faster at his words.

She eyes him lovingly, puts a hand to his cheek. Just the look in her eyes was enough to prove to Damon that simply stating it was more than worth it.

"**Em**i**ly**!" John calls again. Emily's calm features snap with pure rage. She turns to John angrily, and Damon nearly laughs at her reaction to John's persistent interruptions.

"He can't **die**, right?" she questions, only half-sarcastic. Damon does indeed laugh at that. She spares a smirk as she faces him, then shakes her head and starts walking back and towards her annoying uncle.

John has the front seat open for her. She dismisses his scolding gaze and enters.

Damon then gets in his car, to find Stefan beside him, smirking at him. Damon smirks as well. "Shut up," he says.

XXXXX


	52. Chapter 52

"You really have to do that? It's a funeral, for Christ's sake," John implied in disapproval. Emily eyed him quizzically, feeling criticized.

"Do what?" she asked in confusion as they drove down the road.

"Kiss him," he says in distaste. Emily wasn't expecting that. She cocks a brow.

"Are you serious?" she smirked, not taking him seriously.

"What the hell are you doing, Emily?" Realizing the question was generally regarding Damon, Emily rolled her eyes.

"God," she sighed tiredly, facing the window.

"Do you actually think this is **going** somewhere?!" _'You're not dropping this, are you?'_ her mind irritably implicated. She acknowledged his question, and scowled.

"And why **not**? I have-" _'all eternity. Uhhh…What?! I can't say __**that**__!'_

"You have what?"

"I…nothing."

"No, you have what?" he pushed.

"I said nothing! **Enough** with this. I'm **not** going to stop seeing Damon-"

"Do you love him?"

"…I…Do I?" Emily is greatly taken aback by John's out-of-the-blue question, half-coherently repeating it internally and aloud, as her heart urged her to agree, yet her mind found no answer.

"You don't know. Cause this isn't **something**, Emily. For all you know, he could've been compelling you half the time."

_'You know what. That's it,'_ she refused to take any more of this. From every angle these days, everyone was questioning her relationship with Damon, partially one of the reasons her opinions on her were hardening as stone in her mind. **Because** they won't stop judging him, she **completely** stopped.

"Okay, you know what. Stop the car," she demanded, refusing to remain around **anyone** who'd look to involve themselves in what was only her business.

"What?" John retorted, not taking her seriously. "I'm not stopping the car," he dismissed.

"NOW!" she furiously shouted, feeling an overwhelming sensation of frustration overcome her without warning, her stomach actually hurt.

Then she noted the way John was looking at her, releasing the gas pedal, slowing the car down half-consciously.

There was horror in his eyes.

She was confused, then physically felt her face shifting, back, from its monstrous form.

She froze, lips parted terror.

Too late did she turn away,

for he'd already seen.

The car came to a slow halt.

Emily didn't wait; she opened the door and rose, disappearing away…

XXX

With key aimed at the Salvatore Boarding House's front door lock, Emily cursed under her breath. What had happened made her doubt the wisdom behind her decision to come here, but where else would she go? Home? Where John was?!

The door swung open regardless, for Stefan had heard the jiggle of keys, and was curious as to why it was taking whoever it was so long. Emily winced at his appearance. Stefan looked to her form perplexedly. "Emily. What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Her heart raced.

"…Something…Happened," she hesitantly told.

"What?" Damon pushed, appearing behind Stefan a few ways in the living room. Snapping to concern, Damon's eyes widened. "**What** did you do?" he demanded dis-contently.

"Nothing!" she yelled. _'Technically, I didn't __**do**__ anything…He is sooo gonna hate me.'_ "I just…" she stepped in as Stefan moved aside for her. She stood opposite Damon, and further winced at the wary look on his face. "Please don't get mad," she told. Damon's heart jumped in concern. He pursed his lips to keep his already rising anger at bay. His 'calm-himself' attempt looked far from reassuring for Emily, whom Stefan noted to be in great dismay as he approached them.

Damon grasped her by the shoulders. "Emily. What. Happened?" he urged. There was no easy way to say it; she herself was freaking out. She squeezed her eyes shut in tension, before opening them to his expectant ones.

"I…got into an argument with uncle John, and I…I think he saw my face change," she explains.

It was not what either of the brothers were expecting, and to Damon, this was far less frustrating, but nevertheless, concerning. "You think?" Stefan inquired as Damon released her shoulders. She faced the former.

"No, I saw. The way he looked at me, and he stopped the car, and I **know** I felt my face change, but I turned away, just not soon enough, and I…I," she was ranting madly, greatly worked up. Damon put a hand to her arm as he nodded.

"Okay. Hey. Calm down," he assured. She looked to him with wild eyes. "Breathe," he told. She complied, inhaling deeply. Stefan and Damon shared a concerned glance.

They sure as hell weren't sending her home now.

"It's not your fault," Stefan told her. She looked to him again. "It happens."

"Yeah, and usually, you can just compel it away, but dear ol' uncle's eradicated that option," Damon irritably stated.

"What…do I do?" she asked warily.

"How was he? How did he react?" asked Stefan.

"I…couldn't tell. Surprised, mostly. I didn't give him a chance to say anything. I sort of just left."

"Then we need to figure it out before you go anywhere," Damon states. "You're not safe with him." Emily looked unconvinced and irritated by that. "Hey, don't do that. We just had this conversation last **night**. Remember? How father-of-the-year shot his two sons because he **thought** they were just helping vampires. What do you think this guy'll do?"

Emily's face reacted horrifically to that.

"Damon," Stefan warned in scolding, a tone the latter brushed off. "Look. I'll talk to Elena. We'll deal with this. For now. Damon's right. You should stay here," Stefan told. Emily nodded in reluctant agreeance.

XXX

"Drink," Damon handed Emily a glass of blood. Without hesitation she took it, gulping down it's contents in one go, savoring it. Damon resided next to her on the couch. She put the now empty glass down on the coffee table, and fell back into the sofa, head laid back as she brushed a tense hand through her hair, Damon studying her all the while.

There was nothing he could say that she would believe to make the situation better. Instead, he offered a very real solution to put her mind at ease, despite knowing she'd hate it. "If push comes to shove," Emily faced Damon. "I can lock him up, bleed the vervain out of his system, then compel him." She eyed that curiously.

"What do you mean? Bleed it out?" she asked quizzically, already not liking the sound of it. Damon widened his eyes and pursed his lips, an amused look on his face.

"Take a guess," he said. A thoughtful look crossed her face, then her eyes widened. She straightened on the couch and faced him properly.

"You mean **bleed** him. Make him bleed out?!"

"Yup," he confirmed nonchalantly. She gave him a bewildered look. "Hey, you can compel him to forget that too, **if** he's dry of vervain."

"No, Damon."

"You're **gonna** agree with me," he assured confidently. She cocked a daring brow at him before he resumed. "**If** he comes here looking to stake you. Believe me, you'll **ask** me to."

"Well, it isn't gonna come to that," she told sternly. Damon shrugged.

"Hope it doesn't," he was hoping the exact opposite, actually. It would be much easier for them to get answers out of John if he could be compelled. "What were you arguing about anyways?" he asked curiously.

Emily's expression went plain, before she looked away. "Nothing. Something stupid," she lied. What would she say? That John, that **everyone** was telling her to stay away from him, that they were moving too fast, or not going anywhere at all?!

Damon eyed her suspiciously. He felt she wasn't being honest, and scooted closer to her. He placed his arm on the back of the couch behind her as she looked at him, growing wary. "Really?" he raised a brow, looking her straight in the eyes and straining his super hearing. His closeness to her and the truth intimidated her.

"Yes!" she answered quickly. Damon gave her a look. She realized he'd listened to her heartrate. "Damn it," she breathed irritably.

"Mhm," Damon smirked. "Fess up." She faced him, unamused.

"You're an ass," she told. Damon grinned.

"Maybe."

Her eyes then softened on him. How can they see him as the bad guy? How can anyone, she wondered.

"We were arguing about you," she confessed. Damon's amusement faltered. _'Please don't tell me this was because of me,'_ his mind urged. "He didn't like that we were making out in public," she said in a mock-filled tone, "kept tryin to convince me that you've just been compelling me," Damon listened intently to that. "He just wouldn't stop, and I got **so** mad. I'm so sick of people telling me…" she stopped and sighed tiredly. Damon's brows furrowed.

"Telling you what?" he encouraged. She locked eyes with his, debating answering that. His heart had already skipped a beat before she spoke.

"To not be with you…Like it's any of their business," she rolled her eyes, looking away once more in annoyance. _'Elena. Jenna. John. Even Stefan, once upon a time.'_

Damon processed what she'd said. It came as no surprise that 'people,' did not like him. He correctly assumed that included Elena, and possibly her aunt. The fact that it angered her made him wonder. In a way, she was fighting them: 'people,' to be with him, in whatever way it was they were together. Was it worth it? Was he making it worth it for her?

His mind suggested something out of the blue, and he tilted her chin to meet her eyes once more. She was curious to what he had to say, as he looked quite serious. "When you turn, any compulsion that's happened to you fades away, and you'd remember if you were ever compelled. You can even ask Stefan about that. He'll tell you what happened with him when Katherine's compulsion wore off him and he realized he never had any feelings for her," he explains. Emily listens to this new information with interest, partially disliking hearing the name Katherine off Damon's tongue again. "Point is…I never compelled you."

The sentence hit her suddenly. Her gaze softened on him. "Damon, I know," she told confidently. He nodded in dismiss.

"Yeah, it's just. When you keep hearing it from everyone, you start to suspect they're right. You just need proof that they're wrong, and…Well, that's it," he stated.

"Damon," she called, wanting his non-dismissive attention as she got on her knees on the couch and took his face between her palms, looking down at him. "I **never** needed proof," she clarified, needing him to hear that, to get it.

Damon's heart gradually warmed, taking in what she'd said, what it meant. She trusted him. She truly believes he'd do her no harm, and that to him should come as no surprise, as she'd literally said that being him with him was the only place she felt safe. But that she trusts him, seemed, sounded, and felt different. It felt good, how purely she did, making him wonder what he did that was so great to earn that trust.

Damon, using vamp speed, flipped their positions and laid her under him. The movement shocked her, but was not unlikeable. She smiled up at him as he took her in as if for the first time. He brought a hand up and grazed her cheek softly. Her heart raced at his touch, and her gaze grew heavy-lidded. He brushed her lower lip with his thumb, then erased what distance remained between them. He kissed her deeply. She pulled him closer, making him fall atop her with her strength. His body weight was not an issue to her improved pain tolerance. On the contrary, it was welcoming. She inhaled strongly as she kissed him back, as if absorbing much needed emotional stability from him, and being near him.

Damon felt so lost in their kiss. She was starting to have a strange, not unpleasant effect on him. He couldn't tell what it was, but for that instant, he wanted never to part with her…

XXXXX


	53. Chapter 53

"Uncle John," Elena called reluctantly. A dazed John looked up from behind the counter, coffee mug in hand. When he'd come home, he was asked about the whereabouts of Emily, and had to lie that she'd asked him to drop her off at the Grill. When Elena went to confirm this, she was sooner called by Stefan, who explained the situation to her.

"Yeah?" John retorted curiously.

Elena stepped into the kitchen, and closed the slide door behind her. John grew wary. "We need to talk," she said as she turned to him once more, approaching the center counter as well. "About Emily."

John grew fairly tense by this.

What on Earth was there to say?

Did Elena also know?...

How did **he** **not** know?

"What about Emily?" he pushed in lure.

"You know…That she's a vampire…" John's gaze faltered, heart pinching in fear and loss.

"…So it's true…" he uttered gravely. Elena panicked at that, that maybe she'd affirmed it for him when he did not actually know. "I…was hoping I was seeing things…" he brought the mug to his lips with shaky hands, wishing its contents were something stronger. He then lowered it, and faced the middle Gilbert. "…Why?...When?..." he asked as though in utter disappointment.

His niece. His little tea-loving princess…a creature of dark,

and death…

and pain…

Why?

"Why?" Elena echoed. "…She thought she was protecting us," words Elena herself did not fully believe.

"Protecting you?" John asked, completely confused.

"We've…been through a lot…A lot…I'm not saying I'm happy with her decision, but it is what is now…I've learned to accept it." _'No I haven't,'_ her mind stated.

"**Accept** it?!" John refused in bewilderment. "When-For how long has this been…**This**?!" he pushed. Elena knew she wouldn't like this particular conversation, with this particular person.

"About two weeks ago," she told, insuring her voice was too low for Jenna or Jeremy to hear should they pass by.

"So she's…**completely** new…And she lives here with **you**?!" John exclaimed, instinctively more worried about Elena's safety.

"No. She lived with Damon-"

"Damon," he cut her off, a menacing turn of tone. "Did **he** turn her?"

"I…Yes, but!" she insisted as a murderous look appeared on John's face. "She asked him to. She asked him to because…" Elena paused, as though unable to fathom the reason. John waited expectantly. "She thought it would make her stronger…to protect us."

John hated this. Absolutely hated this. First Isobel, now Emily. That's two of the most important women in John's life Damon's turned.

He hated him, **loathed** him.

He'd turned his niece into a monster, a monster like him.

"Uncle John," Elena called. He looked to her. "It's **still** Emily. Nothing changed," '_Everything's changed,'_ her mind argued. "She still…She's still the same person." _'That isn't true.'_ "She just…made a mistake…and it's too late to fix it…but I won't hold it against her…" _'I want to._' "Her intentions were… in the right place…" _'I hate this, but…_' "She's **always** looked out for us," at least this she knew to be true.

John had had it. He straightened and made for the door. Elena grew wary. "Where are you going?" she asked. Following after him.

"To find her," he stated, exiting the kitchen, then the house.

Elena dialed Stefan quickly.

XXX

"Well, hello," Damon answered John at the door, smiling fakely.

"Where is she?" John retorted, in no mood to be played.

"She's perfectly fine. Safe and sound," Damon retorted bitterly. "How may** I** help you?" John clenched his jaw to keep his cool. _'Think you're…what? Responsible for her?!'_ John's mind mocked.

"I wanna talk to her," he persisted.

"Not an option," Damon's fake smile fell, taking a more serious turn.

"Damon," Emily, who'd just come down from her room with a change of clothing. John looked to her, half-relieved. What was he expecting had happened to her, more than what already has?

"Stay," Damon urged as she stepped towards them. Emily eyed him in disbelief. He was dead-serious.

"So she's your prisoner now?" John sneered furiously.

"Prisoner?" Damon chuckled, finding it truly ironic that the person he thought was an actual threat to her was acting like Damon himself was the problem. "Think again, Johnny boy," Damon started, extremely infuriating John. "**I**'m not the one hating on her kind," he clarifies. _'Her __**kind**__?!' _John's mind greatly rejected.

"Damon, come **on**," Emily insisted, approaching them. Damon looked to her in irritated scolding. She thought Damon ought to learn the difference between being protective and being controlling. She glared right back. "If he wants to talk. We can talk," she said, looking to John meaningfully. Damon studied the look on John's face. He seemed more upset, pitiful than anything. He didn't **look** like he'd immediately stake her.

Still.

"Fine. Come on in," Damon widened the door, stepped aside smirking. John eyed him warily. Emily rolled her eyes tiredly. Even smirking – perhaps **especially** when smirking – Damon looked very threatening. She took John by the hand.

"Come on," she told reassuringly, guiding him in. Because he hadn't fully absorbed the fact that she was now a vampire, he didn't flinch when she touched him, wasn't scared of her.

Damon was close behind them. Emily tensed at that. "Go on. I'll be with you in a second," she gestured at the parlor. John reluctantly complied as she turned to Damon. He continued to keep an eye on them.

"What?" Damon asked her.

"Can you like. Give us some space?" she implied quietly. Damon's brows furrowed, before he looked to the side reluctantly, not wanting to mention yet again that he was worried that John would literally attempt to murder her. She seemed to wordlessly pick up on that though. "I'll be fine. It's only a few minutes. Just. You make him nervous."

"I take that as a compliment," Damon smirks proudly. Emily rolls her eyes at him. She shoves him lightly in the chest.

"Go." Reluctantly, he turned away, not far into the kitchen.

Then, she faced her uncle.

He was seated on the couch she was just a while ago with Damon.

He was eyeing her nervously. _'He's afraid of me,'_ she gloomily assumed. This made her heart jump in sorrow. _'Just. Come on.'_ She plucked at her courage and made way towards the parlor. She sat on the couch opposite John, giving him the space she thought he needed. She could see Damon in the kitchen, eyeing her intently. He looked tense, that wasn't very reassuring, but his general presence played a role in her upheld composure in the current situation.

She faced John once more, fully focused, yet wholly uncertain how to start. John locked onto her gaze as well, and thankfully spoke first. "Wh-" he paused, clearing his dry throat. "When-Why…Why would you…" To no surprise, he was at a loss as well. Emily eyed him sympathetically, and swallowed misplaced guilt before attempting to start for them.

"When…When vampires," he looked up at her, "became a part of my-**our**, lives. Me, Jeremy and Elena, and Jenna. We, um. We weren't prepared," she started. "I mean, yes I knew, or I assumed, for a time that they were real, but I guess I never really expected it…I looked for vervain. Went out of town to get some, actually. Um, I got it for everyone, including myself. And, uhhh, for a time, I went to the gym, trained to fight, to defend myself…But that was beyond useless when I was faced with the truth. I'll admit, at first I was scared of Damon and Stefan." She glanced at Damon warily, who was listening intently. She hoped he knew she felt differently now. He did, but it didn't help the pang of guilt he felt for ever one day being her source of fear.

Hearing this, for John, however, made him loath the brothers – **blame** them – all the more. "But, um. They weren't. The only problem, or weren't really a problem at all," _'That's not true,'_ she and Damon shared the thought, but he could see she was trying to avert any hostility John had towards him and Stefan away. "More vampires started coming into town, wanting to, um," she glanced at Damon nervously again, speaking the next part quickly for both their sakes. "Open this tomb. Long story. Anyways, we – our family, were targeted. Elena, because she looked like some older, vampire named Katherine." All of this John knew, but did not say anything to prove so, merely listened, still waiting for a single valid reason as to why Emily had chosen to turn, cause all he was hearing then were vices. "Then it was Jeremy, because he had the journal, which held the way to open this tomb. I started to realize we had enemies everywhere, with no way to fight them." Damon recalled sour moments when Emily had shown more than one time how helpless she'd felt, even voiced it once.

"Well, it seemed to me like you had two other vampires on your side. Why didn't they help?" John retorted bitterly, causing Damon to clench his jaw.

"They **did**! But it wasn't **enough**. It's not like they could just move **in** with us! It wasn't any of their business anyways, but they **helped**," she stressed. John was disturbed by how defensive she was over them, over **him**, he who John didn't know was stood in the kitchen, half-appreciating her attempt to defend him and Stefan. "They'd kidnapped Stefan once, the other vampires," she resumed, driving down a memory lane she did not wish to re-venture through. "Elena tried to help, so I went after her. I nearly **died**," she said through clenched teeth, holding back vivid tears. This took John by surprise. Then her expression grew plain. "I started to realize I had to find a way to…" _'To what?' _she momentarily wondered. "To protect them. Elena. Jeremy…It could have been her." This statement greatly got to John. He slowly began to understand what had driven Emily to this point.

Damon didn't. Or he did, and didn't like it. He understood, yes, that she did it for them bla, bla. But it wasn't good enough for him. Her selflessness was a weakness to her, he determined. That she never thought of herself, never put herself first. He hated it. Yes, being a vampire was no cake-walk, and sometimes, it was a complete nightmare. She **happily** accepted all of it, for someone **else**!

"One of us had to do something, and I wasn't gonna let it be her. We needed the strength to fight. I couldn't fight something I was no match against."

"And **this** was your solution?!"

"**Yes**! And I'd do it again, uncle John. Because whatever else I did wasn't **enough**!" her tears broke through the barrier and rolled down her cheeks in fast streams. "Damn it!" she wiped at them furiously.

"Okay," Damon decided it was high-time he stepped in. Emily wanted – half-heartedly – to tell him off, but was chocked up on tears she was fighting mad-like.

John looked over his shoulder at a Damon he was not aware was so close by. Damon stood between them, nearer to Emily's side. She was still on the couch, as was John, who was looking up at Damon warily. "I think you should go," he told sternly. At that, John glared angrily at him. Damon glared right back in heavy warning.

Then John glanced at Emily, who refused to look up at him, afraid of judgement, of criticism. _'I turned. I turned…why?'_ was a heavy wander racing through her thoughts. Her reasoning didn't feel real enough anymore. Was it **really** to protect her family? It felt there was more to it. She **knew** there was.

John could tell there was nothing more she could say to him. Perhaps there was nothing more **to** say. He'd come here so convinced that what she'd done was horrid, but was it really? _'She's just a kid,'_ he couldn't help considering. A kid put in a position, in situations, impossible to deal with without any one's guidance, forced to protect those who needed protecting with no possible means…

How could he blame her?

…John rose to his feet, and when Emily didn't look up, he knew he ought to leave, leave her be. This wasn't easy for her, and he suddenly recalled that just this very morning, she had attended the funeral of someone she was forced to take the life of herself.

Then he pushed her away, and she came here…

If here…with this…person he deemed untrustworthy, is where **she** felt safe, or at least **wanted** to be, then so be it. At least he was convinced Damon wouldn't physically harm her,

any more than he already has…

XXXXX


	54. Chapter 54

"Damon," she called quietly. Damon turned from closing the door behind John, to her voice. It sounded off, tired. It made him worry.

"Yeah?" he replied, re-approaching her. She did not answer, getting to her feet as he stopped opposite her. He looked her over, and felt the urge to wipe away what was left of her tears, when she spoke up:

"What if…" she finally looked up at him, eyes still glossy, a painful expression on her face. "What if…the reason I turned…was a whole lie?" she asked fearfully. Damon's brows knitted together in confusion. "What if, I turned…because I wanted to?" she cried. Damon couldn't understand why she was still in tears, till he further attempted to process the meaning behind what she was saying. "What if I turned, for myself? What if I just…wanted to feel powerful…To live long, to do…**everything** I can, everything I want…in a single lifetime?" A look of realization started to befall Damon. "What if I turned…for me?" she shrugged suggestively, streams of guilty tears still rolling down her cheeks, as though mocking Damon. He cupped her face and wiped them away with his thumbs caringly. "Would that make me a horrible person?" she asked in innocence tainted with sorrow. Damon gulped, and shook his head carefully.

"No," he told, tone confident, yet his answer did not satisfy her. Her gaze fell. "Look at me," he called softly. She complied.

What she'd said surprised him with **relief**. All the guilt he once felt for turning her vanished the moment – that very moment – she said it was what she wanted, for herself.

If anything, he was glad.

But he knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear. He tried to appeal to her sense of logic. "You still wanna keep your family safe, right?" he asked implicitly. At that, she nodded, without hesitation. "And now you can. It **is** part of the reason you chose to turn…but it's not the only thing. Wanting a life for yourself is **not** selfish. Wanting to feel powerful instead of helpless is **not** selfish. Wanting to experience **life**…is. Not. Selfish, you hear me?" he told sternly.

She took his words greatly to heart. It wasn't hard for him of all people to convince her, especially when what he was saying seemed to make sense to her.

Slowly, she nodded. Damon exhaled from fading tension. He pulled her into him, placed her head to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her protectively. If it was herself she'd need protecting from, he'd be there for that too.

XXX

"Well, that went better than we expected," said Stefan, stepping into the house from the back door. Damon glances at him in acknowledgment as he poured himself a drink in the kitchen. Emily had gone up to take a bath.

"Yep. Could've been a lot worse. Not to say I wasn't partially hoping we'd go for the bleed-him-dry scenario." Stefan rolled his eyes at that. Damon's brows then furrowed. "Where were you, anyways?" he asked before taking a sip of the glass of whiskey, having been told by Stefan that he'd go to Elena and 'deal' with John.

"I was outside," he pointed at the wall. "Listening to make sure everything was going smoothly." Damon nodded, considering this,

then his heart jumped.

"So, I take it you…heard everything she just said," he implied, a colder look befalling his face. Stefan's expression also grew plain.

"I did," he nodded.

"Mm. Well. In case it's unclear; you do **not** breathe a word of it to your girlfriend."  
"You don't say, Damon…I care about Emily too, you know." At that, Damon couldn't help the scowl, like a silly part of him was jealous.

Then again, it was not new for them to fight over the same woman, so maybe Damon's minor concern was justified.

"She's a good person," Stefan resumed, snapping Damon out of it. What he'd said was one thing the siblings agreed on. Even after what he'd heard, it did not make Stefan think any less of Emily, especially after what Damon had said to her in retort.

What kind of person she was, was never unclear to Damon. He knew from the start what she was…something he: "I'm not…" found himself saying, then realized that he'd said it aloud.

No taking it back now.

Stefan registered his words and studied him carefully, just as cautiously choosing his next words: "She seems to think you are." Damon's heart jumps, yet again, at that. Coming from Stefan, it felt like he was burdening him with a responsibility, one of upholding what she thought of him. "So do I," Stefan added in all sincerity, purely meaning it.

Damon's eyes snapped to his younger sibling's. This one really gets to him. Him and Stefan had been at it for **years**. At the end of the day, even if buried deep, they still cared for one another strongly. But for Stefan to confess that he still thought Damon was good inside…Perhaps Damon wouldn't have believed it coming from one person, but from two of the people he now cared most for.

…It made a difference.

XXXXX


End file.
